Rayman Targets Holiday Release

Ubisoft has announced that the fourth installment in its popular Rayman series is currently in development, and is expected to ship during the 2006 holiday season. The game, which is based on a character originally created over a decade ago by both Michel Ancel and Frédéric Houde, will ship for both current and next-generation platforms, and is being developed by Ubisoft's Montpellier studio with Ancel once again leading the project. “Rayman is one of the brands that encapsulate Ubisoft’s ability to create characters and universes that appeal to all kinds of players,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “We are expecting this new Rayman video game to sweep players off their feet.” Ancel has also played a key role in developing other titles, such as the recent film adaptation of King Kong, and Beyond Good & Evil, a game which has been rumored to be getting a sequel, with Ancel at the helm, despite the original's poor retail showing when it was released in 2003.