Ubisoft just wrapped up its Ubisoft Forward event today, with plenty of big announcements, includingFar Cry 6’s reveal, additional information onWatch Dogs Legion, andan in-depth trailer forAssassin’s Creed Valhalla. But a few of the company’s classic franchises were noticeably missing from this live event, one of them being the fan-favorite platforming mascot from the company’s past, Rayman. And fans aren’t too happy about it.
Raymanhelped kickstart the 3D platforming genre of the mid-’90s, withRayman 2: The Great Escapethought of by many today as a timeless classic. The franchise went on to receive a handful of spin-offs and sequels, including the critically acclaimedRayman OriginsandRayman Legends. But the series came to a sudden halt afterLegends' commercial flop, failing to meet Ubisoft’s sales expectations at the time.
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Since the release ofRayman Legendsin 2013, fans have been clamoring for a new entry in the long-running series, so much so that one fan even took the time toremake the originalRaymanfrom the ground up. After seven years without any console entries and seventeen years since a 3D one, many fans were hoping to see the unveiling of a new title for modern consoles but were disappointed to see no such announcement.
The #Rayman and #BringBackRayman hashtags have since started trending on Twitter, with many gamers voicing their disappointment to Ubisoft through various memes.
It is worth asking whether Ubisoft will ever release a newRaymangame for consoles, as the company shares a long history with the series. Since its last mainline game, the series has been relegated strictly to smaller mobile titles. It isUbisoft’s most critically well-received franchiseafter all, sitting at an impressive average score of 88 on Metacritic.
The onlyappearances from Raymanoutside of the mobile scene have been cameos in various other games, with him showing up as a trophy inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii Uin 2014 and becoming a playable character inBrawlhalla. While Rayman himself hasn’t seen a new title in some time, the Rabbids from his spin-off franchiseRayman Raving Rabbidshave continued to become increasingly popular over the past decade, with them crossing over into the Mario universe in the 2017 titleMario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.
