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The last mainline Rayman game, Rayman Legends, was released in 2013.
Following a report that claimed Ubisoft was working on an unannounced Rayman remake, the studio confirmed that a project based on the franchise was in its early stages. The French publisher did not say if the game was a remake, as reported Wednesday, but confirmed that it had begun “an exploration phase on the Rayman brand”. The development comes after Ubisoft confirmed reports that said its team that worked on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown had been moved to other projects at the studio.
A New Rayman Project Is in Its 'Early Stages'
Ubisoft confirmed the unnamed Rayman project in an emailed statement to Kotaku Wednesday, adding that it would share more details on the game later. “We are pleased to confirm Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan have recently started an exploration phase on the Rayman brand,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told Kotaku. “The project is still in its early stages, and we will share more details later.”
Ubisoft Montpellier is the developer behind Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the action-adventure Metroidvania platformer that came out January 18. Ubisoft's Rayman confirmation followed a report that said the company's Montpellier team had been disbanded and assigned to other projects.
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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Team Disbanded
French independent media portal Origami reported Tuesday that The Lost Crown’s sales fell short of expectations at Ubisoft, despite critical acclaim. Ubisoft Montpellier reportedly pitched a sequel to the company but was turned down.
Ubisoft partially confirmed the report to Eurogamer on Wednesday and said most of the developers at its Montpellier studio had been assigned to other projects “that would benefit from their expertise.” While the company did not elaborate its position on a sequel to The Lost Crown, it said it was “excited to bring more Prince of Persia experiences in the future.”
Gadgets 360, in its positive review of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown earlier this year, had called the game a “ridiculously fun and surprisingly challenging” platformer that could set the tone for future Prince of Persia games.
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Ubisoft Montepellier Moved to Other Ubisoft Projects
Following Ubisoft's confirmation, Insider Gaming reported that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown developers had been shifted to three new projects at the company — a majority of the team had reportedly moved to working on Beyond Good and Evil 2, 12 developers were now reportedly working on the next mainline Ghost Recon game, internally known as “Project Ovr,” and around a similar number of Ubisoft Montpellier employees had been assigned to a remake project of a Rayman game, dubbed “Project Steambot,” in development at Ubisoft Milan.
In its statement to Kotaku, Ubisoft also confirmed that Michel Ancel, creator of the Rayman brand, had been brought on as a consultant for the project. Ancel's involvement comes with its fair share of controversy, too. In 2020, French newspaper Libération had reported that Ancel, who at the time was working on the Beyond Good and Evil sequel, was leaving Ubisoft amid an investigation over accusations of creating a difficult work environment and bullying team members.
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Ubisoft did not confirm if the Rayman project would be a remake of an older game from the series. The last mainline Rayman game was Rayman Legends, developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and initially released in 2013 on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PlayStation Vita.