Remember Ubisoft’s announcement last October it was currently in the “exploration phase’ of a new Rayman project? Well, it seems the project has now been given the go ahead after those that after those initial tentative steps, with a recent job listing indicating the publisher is now staffing up on a “AAA” Rayman game.
To rewind a bit, all this came about following reports last year that Ubisoft had assembled a small group of developers – including around a dozen members of its now-disbanded Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team – to work on a remake of Rayman. Somewhat unusually, Ubisoft didn’t immediately reach for the ‘does not comment on rumours or speculation’ button, instead confirming that, yes actually, it’s sort of true. “”We are pleased to confirm Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan have recently started an exploration phase on the Rayman brand,” it told Eurogamer at the time. “The project is still in its early stages, and we will share more details later.”
There was a sense, then, that nothing might come of the project if that “exploration phase” didn’t bring encouraging results. But it now appears those initial experiments showed sufficient promise, because Ubisoft Milan is currently seeking a 3D gameplay animator to work on a “prestigious AAA title for the Rayman brand.” There’s also a second, slightly less specific job listing searching for a senior game designer to “work on the Rayman brand”, but it seems likely both positions are related to the same project.
So that’s some encouraging news for Rayman fans, particularly given Ubisoft Montpellier and Milan’s historically stellar output. Between them, the studio’s have released the acclaimed likes of Mario + Rabbids, the beautiful Valiant Hearts series, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, plus Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends – two absolutely gold standard 2D platformers.
The only troubling element of Rayman’s revival is last year’s admission by Ubisoft that original Rayman creator Michel Ancel had been drafted in as a consultant. Ancel departed the publisher in 2020, allegedly following an investigation into employee complaints accusing him of toxic leadership, and his involvement with the new Rayman project was reported to have “raised some concerns among team members”. It is, however, unclear if Ancel is still serving as a consultant now Ubisoft’s initial “exploration phase” appears to be complete.
Signs that Rayman is heading for a “AAA” return come at a challenging time for Ubisoft. The publisher has faced a tumultuous few years amid tumbling share prices and a number of high-profile flops, resulting in a string of layoffs and studio closures. As part of its attempts to right the ship, Ubisoft announced it was launching a new subsidiary dedicated to its big three IPs – Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry – earlier this year. With those game under a new banner, Ubisoft itself will concentrate one a number of key areas, including “nurturing the development of iconic franchises” – which is presumably where Rayman comes in.