Following reports that Ubisoft is working on an unannounced Rayman remake, the studio has confirmed that a project based on the franchise is in the early stages. The French publisher did not say whether the game was a remake, as reported on Wednesday, but confirmed that it had begun a “research phase for the Rayman brand”. The development comes after Ubisoft confirmed reports that its team working on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown had been moved to other studio projects.
The new Rayman project is in the “early stages”
Ubisoft confirmed the untitled Rayman project in a statement emailed to Kotaku on Wednesday, adding that it would share more details about the game at a later date. “We are pleased to confirm that Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan have recently begun the research phase of the Rayman brand,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told Kotaku. “The project is still in the early stages and we will share more details later.”
Ubisoft Montpellier is the developer of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, a Metroidvania action-adventure platformer released on January 18th. Ubisoft’s Rayman confirmation follows a report that said the company’s Montpellier team had been disbanded and assigned to other projects.
The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team has been disbanded
French independent media portal Origami reported on Tuesday that sales of The Lost Crown fell short of Ubisoft’s expectations, 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 experience.” While the company didn’t elaborate on its stance on a sequel to The Lost Crown, it said it was “excited to bring more of the Prince of Persia experience in the future.”
In their positive review of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown earlier this year, Gadgets 360 called the game a “ridiculously fun and surprisingly challenging” platformer that could set the tone for future Prince of Persia games.
Ubisoft Montepellier has been carried over to other Ubisoft projects
After confirmation, Ubisoft Insider Gaming reported that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown developers have been moved to three new projects at the company — with most of the team reportedly moving on to work on Beyond Good and Evil 2, with a reported 12 developers now. in the next major Ghost Recon game, known internally as “Project Ovr”, and roughly the same number of Ubisoft Montpellier employees were assigned to a Rayman remake project called “Project Steambot” being developed at Ubisoft Milan.
In a statement to Kotaku, Ubisoft also confirmed that Michel Ansel, the creator of the Rayman brand, has been brought on board as a consultant for the project. Ansel’s involvement has also caused its fair share of controversy. In 2020, French newspaper Libération reported that Ansel, who was working on the Beyond Good and Evil sequel at the time, was leaving Ubisoft amid an investigation into allegations of harsh working conditions and abuse of team members.
Ubisoft has not confirmed whether the Rayman project will be a remake of an older game in the series. The last mainline Rayman game was Rayman Legends, developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and originally released in 2013 for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PlayStation Vita.