TheRaymanfranchise has been quiet for a while. It was late 2013 when Ubisoft releasedRayman Legendsas the fifth mainlineRaymantitle, and ever since then, there’s been nothing but re-releases and mobile spin-offs. If not forRayman Legendsbeing such a fantastic game and coming to every console, people might not even be aware of this classic mascot platformer series. Among many spin-offs, the other mainRaymangames are made up of the 2D original, the highly acclaimed3D sequelRayman 2: The Great Escape, its follow-upRayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, and then a jump from 2003 to 2011 for another 2D platformer titledRayman Originson the UbiArt Framework engine.
That conspicuous release gap was caused by theRaymanseries getting absorbed into theRaving Rabbidsgames. Infamously, the game intended to beRayman 4was repurposed into a Wii minigame collection calledRayman Raving Rabbidsin 2006. Thus began theRabbidsfranchise, which is still hounding desperateRaymanfans to this day.Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hopewill finallythrow the community a bone via Rayman DLC, but a trueRayman 4is nowhere in sight. At least, not until December 24, whenRaymanfans experienced what can only be called a holiday miracle.
RELATED:It’s Time For Rayman to Make a Comeback
What Was In The Rayman 4 Leaks
Twitter user @RibShark suddenly alerted theRaymancommunity to a massiveRayman 4leak early on June 11, 2025. Exactly where this leak is located was left to viewers to find, and the original source of the leak remains anonymous. Still, copious amounts of evidence were quickly posted to prove both theveracity and severity of thisRayman 4leak. Rather than anything easy to fabricate like old marketing materials or design documents, this leak consisted ofRayman 4’s source code and editor, as well as many of its assets. Video game source code is almost never publicly available, so getting it from an unreleased game is an almost unprecedented occurrence.
The following reports, screenshots, and even videos from fans whipped the community into a frenzy. Of particular interest were the various test environments, which contained tons of disparate features and assets that would have gone into the game. Various mounts were found forthe limbless hero Rayman, including the giant spider he was seen riding in an old promotional image, and some sort of giant centipede that could crawl on walls. Among other mounts like a hippogriff and a triceratops was a vehicle styled after the Rabbids, who were also present. Several Rabbid body types have been found so far, and several costumes are present including a punk rock costume seen in an old screenshot and the nude Rayman skin that was officially introduced inRayman Legends.
RELATED:Disney Illusion Island Switch Exclusive Has Serious Rayman Legends Vibes
Not only were there visual elements like silent cutscenes and a model for Rayman’s planned girlfriend, but the gameplay was extracted too. Segments where Rayman was playable allowed users to try out his various skills, some of which had, again, beenadvertised beforeRaving Rabbidscame out. In a test level that saw Rayman entering a giant Rabbid ship to destroy it from within, players could float on air vents and pull levers by grabbing them and moving away. Some combat was also present, including cinematic combo finishers and laser guns for the player to steal. Rayman’s health was represented by a number that appeared above his head, and his ground pound would also deplete a mana total. All of a sudden, much of what has been made for the officialRayman 4is now available online, and there’s no telling what could happen next.
The Strange Development History of Rayman 4
Gawking at a surge of news on the scale of the mid-COVID Nintendo leaks is to be expected, but it gets better with context. TheRaymanseries had been going strong up untilRayman 3: Hoodlum Havocwas released by publisher and developer Ubisoft in 2003. By the end of its North American launch month,Rayman 3had sold over one million copies. With good reviews and sales, what happened toRaymannext was baffling.Rayman Raving Rabbidswas announced in April 2006, initially being pitched as the latestRaymanplatformer, and then released in November 2006 as a barebones minigame collection. Fans were flabbergasted, but the truth behind the changes lay behind the scenes.
Unbeknownst to most, there have actually been two canceledRayman 4projects by two separate developers. The first was by Phoenix Studio, a now-defunct developer best known for its work onWinnie the Pooh’s Rumbly Tumbly Adventure. It would have had the honor of being the first non-Ubisoft studio to make a mainlineRaymangame, but after an unknown amount of pre-production, development ceased after four months. This prototype actually has lots of leaked art and renders of its own, and some of its ideas were mixed into the Game Boy AdvanceRayman Raving Rabbidstitle. At any rate, Rayman returned to Ubisoft Montpellier, once again under his original creator Michel Ancel.
Rayman 4was the working title for the game that becameRayman Raving Rabbids. Almost everything found in the recent leak corresponds to something in this title’s candid marketing materials and teaser trailer, meaning the Phoenix Studio build is not involved. Supposedly, the earliest planning for Ubisoft Montpellier’sRayman 4began in 2005, during the development ofPeter Jackson’sKing Kongvideo game. Most of the ensuing development was spent coming up with lots of different gameplay ideas.
Then, the development focus abruptly switched from PlayStation 2 to Wii when dev kits became available, prompting Ancel to leave the project. This rushed change to hit the Wii’s November 2006 launch and lack of a coherent vision sealedRayman 4’s fate. With the few minigames seen in early marketing brought to the forefront, the game now known asRayman Raving Rabbidsfinally took shape.
It remains to be seen if the proposed costume-relevant dance moves to control enemies are in the leakedRayman 4code, but everything else, including long-distance grabbing and monster riding, seems intact. This leak offers a surprisingly in-depth look at a game fans never got, but still desired over the frequentRabbidsreleases that followed. With these tools, the community could follow theDuke Nukem Forever 2001fandom by completing the project themselves. Whatever happens, this leak and theupcomingMario + RabbidsDLChave given Rayman the most attention he’s had in years, and a little hope can’t be bad for the limbless hero.
Rayman 4has been canceled.
MORE:Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope DLC Should Lead to a New Rayman Game
