What Happened To Rayman?
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00:00At the peak of platformer mascot popularity, Ubisoft's Rayman stood out as one of the
00:10greats, while so many others fell by the wayside.
00:13Not only was Rayman a shining jewel in Ubisoft's catalog, it was one of its first ever franchises,
00:19which helped the studio better establish its identity.
00:22Unfortunately, these days, Rayman is basically nowhere to be found, a fact that has been
00:26haunting a diehard fanbase for years.
00:30Where did the series disappear to?
00:31Well, that's what we're here to tell you.
00:34Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're taking a look at what happened to Rayman.
00:42Before we continue, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and
00:46ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:51Rayman is the brainchild of designer Michel Ancel, and its origins date back to before
00:55he even worked at Ubisoft.
00:57He first designed the character as a teenager in the 80s while learning to draw and code,
01:02and returned to those illustrations after becoming a game designer.
01:05Once he had been hired at Ubisoft, Ancel impressed higher-ups with a pitch for a new game, which
01:10went into development in 1992.
01:12Ancel drew from fairy tales of various regions, including Celtic and Chinese, as well as his
01:17childhood adventures for the game's worlds.
01:20He also got really into ray tracing for the character's animations, hence the now iconic
01:25name, Rayman.
01:31The first game was a huge undertaking for Ubisoft.
01:35More staff was hired, more money was put in, and a new development studio was founded called
01:40Ubi Pictures, now known as Ubisoft Montpellier.
01:43In trying to choose a console powerful enough, the team abandoned its Super Nintendo version
01:48in favor of the upcoming Atari Jaguar.
01:50Thankfully, given that console would be a fairly big failure, Ubisoft also made it a
01:55launch game for the first PlayStation.
01:57Released in 1995, Rayman received strong reviews and sales thanks to great animation, music,
02:04and a deceptively high difficulty.
02:11Ports to other platforms followed, and the PC version even received two expansions with
02:17more stages and a level editor.
02:19Naturally, with such success, a franchise was born.
02:27Development on a sequel began not long after the release of the first, in early 1996.
02:32Ubisoft initially thought to make it another 2D side-scroller, but 3D was making big waves,
02:38especially on the platforming scene, with Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot releasing
02:43the same year Rayman 2 began development.
02:46The switch to 3D was a smart one, with the bright, charming worlds being one of the many
02:51elements to shine through, and the N64 version requiring the expansion pack to fully do them
02:56justice.
02:58Gameplay was also expanded upon beautifully, proving Rayman 2 The Great Escape to be the
03:02successful follow-up Ubisoft wanted.
03:05It received some of the highest acclaim the series would ever see, prompting Ubisoft to
03:09double down on the IP in more ways than one.
03:18First up, Ubisoft sought to expand Rayman's resume.
03:21The studio produced an animated series in 1999 starring Billy West as the voice of Rayman.
03:30The show was cancelled after only airing four episodes, with high production costs claimed
03:34as the cause of death.
03:36Also produced were games outside of the platforming genre.
03:39Rayman starred in an educational game called Rayman Brain Games in North America.
03:44He was also deemed popular enough to get a party game in 2001's Rayman Arena.
03:49The series even expanded to Java and mobile games early on, with different albeit simple
03:54spinoffs like Rayman Golf.
04:01While Ubisoft was building up Rayman's empire, what fans truly wanted was a new mainline
04:07game.
04:08And that came in 2003's Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc, though Ansel himself was only a creative
04:13advisor.
04:14While the second game was ported to the PlayStation 2, the third was the first built with the
04:18sixth generation consoles in mind.
04:21A bit sillier and lighter in tone, it was a fun romp through even more visually impressive
04:26worlds.
04:27It didn't reach quite the same heights as its predecessor, but it was nonetheless another
04:31solid outing for the hero, and one that was a financial hit.
04:35It seemed as if things could only go up.
04:43Of course, living in the present, we know that's not true.
04:47Following the release of Rayman 3, fans waited for a fourth that would never come.
04:51Backbone Entertainment released a GBA entry, Hoodlum's Revenge, in 2005.
04:56That same year, Ubisoft would begin production on Rayman 4 with a smaller developer, Phoenix
05:02Interactive, as the Montpellier studio was then adapting Peter Jackson's King Kong.
05:07Sadly, while the developer had big plans, the project lasted less than a year before
05:12it was cancelled.
05:13Development had begun in 2005, which meant a new generation of consoles was right around
05:18the corner.
05:19Fearing that would harm sales and wanting to build something new, Ubisoft chose to scrap
05:23Phoenix's work and start anew with the Montpellier team once King Kong was finished.
05:30A second version of Rayman 4 would enter development with the character's original creators.
05:36It was intended to be another 3D action platformer, with newly created bunny characters invading
05:41Rayman's world.
05:42However, after Ubisoft received dev kits for Nintendo's upcoming Wii, the traditional
05:47platforming elements were scrapped, though the rabbits weren't.
05:51Ubisoft chose to focus on different types of gameplay and uses for the Wiimote, leading
05:55the project to evolve into the minigame-centric Rayman Raving Rabbids, released in 2006.
06:05Despite it not being a proper Rayman game, Raving Rabbids was a huge hit, and received
06:11ports to multiple platforms soon after.
06:13Unfortunately, the insane little critters would soon outshine Rayman himself.
06:18From 2006 to 2013, the Rabbids got one game per year, and after the third one, 2008's
06:25TV Party, Rayman ceased appearing in them, instead getting relegated back to mobile with
06:302009's Rayman Kart.
06:33Ubisoft had seemingly found a new angle within the IP, merchandising the Rabbids to hell
06:37and back through clothes, toys, and even a four season long TV series.
06:45Meanwhile, Rayman would eventually get his platforming debut on the Wii, with 2011's
06:52Rayman Origins.
06:54Ubisoft Montpellier built a new engine called Ubiart Framework, specializing in transitioning
06:592D animation to a video game format, and quite frankly, it was a stunning display.
07:09Although it had gone back to a side-scroller, its levels were bursting with life and color,
07:14and playing through them, whether alone or with friends, was as delightful as it was
07:18exciting.
07:19However, Rayman's days of being a high-seller without the Rabbids were seemingly behind
07:23him.
07:24Initial sales numbers for Origins were extremely low, though the game eventually became profitable
07:29enough to produce an even better sequel.
07:35For 2013's Rayman Legends, the Montpellier team perfected what was capable with the Ubiart
07:40engine.
07:41The visuals popped straight out of the screen with life and wonder.
07:44Every single level was a blast to play, and there was enough silly humor to keep you smiling
07:49ear to ear.
07:50A new gameplay addition came through the Wii U's gamepad, allowing supportive character
07:54Murphy to interact with environments of certain levels.
07:57It actually was intended to be a Wii U exclusive, but Nintendo's successor wasn't nearly
08:02as positively received as the Wii.
08:05Weak sales of Ubisoft's launch title, Zombie U, caused the publisher to delay Legends for
08:10a multi-platform release.
08:14Like its predecessor, Legends earned a ton of critical acclaim, but was a slow seller.
08:20Sadly, it's the last full game the character has starred in, and that's due to a variety
08:25of factors.
08:26The obvious one being the Rabbids.
08:28They became extremely popular extremely quickly, making them a more bankable option for Ubisoft.
08:34They even teamed up with Mario for a lighthearted take on tactics in 2017's Kingdom Battle.
08:40While the game was initially met with immense backlash due to the oversaturation of the
08:44franchise, it would go on to receive strong reviews and outsell both Origins and Legends.
08:50Meanwhile, Rayman still starred in mobile games, the most recent being 2019's Rayman
08:56Mini.
08:59The other big contributing factor to Rayman's prolonged hiatus is the current status of
09:04Ubisoft itself.
09:06In mid-2020, the studio was hit by numerous sexual misconduct allegations.
09:11And in the wake of all of that, reports of Michel Ancel's abusive management style
09:16surfaced.
09:17Rayman's creator retired from the industry later that year, though denied the allegations
09:22and cited stress as the reason for retirement.
09:25Since then, the studio has experienced backlash not only from the accusations, but from multiple
09:30poorly received business decisions, including a huge focus on subscription models and a
09:35disastrous venture into NFTs.
09:38Recent years haven't been financially viable for the publisher either, with multiple games
09:42underperforming, causing the cancellation of many others in the process.
09:47While well-received, even the Rabbids' second outing with Mario & Co, 2022's Sparks of
09:52Hope, was reportedly financially disappointing for Ubisoft.
09:56Which is a shame, as its third DLC expansion, released in August 2023, featured Rayman's
10:02first appearance in a console game in a decade.
10:05While the character also got a little love that year in Netflix's Captain Lazerhawk,
10:09a Blood Dragon remix, Rayman's gaming prospects don't seem to be looking up.
10:15What did you just say?
10:17Interdimensional alien scum?
10:19I was a refugee who came from Dimension X, sir.
10:22Unfortunately, the wait for a new Rayman game may continue to stretch out even further.
10:26Ubisoft Montpellier, Rayman's home, put out Prince of Persia The Lost Crown in early 2024,
10:33to incredibly strong reviews.
10:35But like many other Ubisoft releases in recent memory, it has so far underperformed in sales.
10:41The studio also still has Beyond Good and Evil 2 to worry about, which has been sitting
10:45comfortably in developmental for quite some time.
10:49Of course, a new entry doesn't have to be done by the same team.
10:53In 2023, Davide Soliani, creative director of both Mario plus Rabbids games, expressed
10:59interest in tackling a Rayman game.
11:01But that's really up to Ubisoft, which, as we've already discussed, has its hands full.
11:06The publisher is balancing a lot of plates while trying to restructure, and dealing with
11:11the fallout of multiple controversies.
11:13Rayman could be seen as a risk, since his days of being a high seller are long behind him.
11:19All the while, those who have spent money on Rayman, loving each zany adventure through
11:23every vibrant landscape, are simply left waiting.
11:31But hey, let's shine a light on the positive.
11:33What's your favorite Rayman game?
11:40Share your fond memories in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for
11:44more great videos every day.
11:49Thanks for watching.