Ubisoft has confirmed to Eurogamer that a new Rayman project is currently in the “exploration phase” at its Montpelier and Milan studios, following recent online reports that work has begun on an unannounced Rayman remake.
News that a new version of Rayman is in development first emerged via Insider Gaming, which claimed that the game, reportedly codenamed Project Steambot, was “being rebuilt” by a team that included around a dozen members of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team.
Most controversially, the site reported that Rayman creator Michel Ancel is also working on the project as a consultant. Ancel left Ubisoft in 2020 after 30 years with the company, reportedly following an investigation into employee complaints accusing him of toxic leadership; His behavior was said to be so bad that additional managers were called in to act as intermediaries between Ancel and his team. Ancel publicly dismissed the report as “fake news,” but Insider Gaming claims that his recent involvement as a consultant on the new Rayman project has “shed an unpopular light” on its development and “raised some concerns among team members.”
Regardless of the reason for Ancel's involvement, it's no surprise that Ubisoft's hiring decision has unsettled employees, given that his departure in 2020 came amid a dramatic reckoning for the company, following a wave of serious allegations from staff about toxic working conditions and led to the departure of several members of senior management.
News of a new Rayman project at Ubisoft follows confirmation that the team behind this year's acclaimed Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has disbanded. And while some of its members are now said to be working on Rayman, Insider Gaming claims that others have been moved to Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil 2 and the upcoming Ghost Recon.