Ubisoft has given us a very brief glimpse at the Rayman DLC for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which is currently set for release in late 2023.
With games like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft Forward was a pretty packed event. One of the big surprises of the show was our first brief glimpse at the upcoming Rayman DLC for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. Brief is the keyword there, but all Rayman content is good Rayman content.
After a highlight reel that revealed crossover content coming to Roller Champions and Brawlhalla, Ubisoft showed a clip of Rayman interacting with Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Peach in what appears to be a hotel of some kind. We see Rabbid Peach ringing a bell and trying to get service, before seeing Rayman presumably for the first time. While Rabbid Mario seems friendly enough with the limbless wonder (implying they have no clue about all the Rabbids he's abused with Wii waggling minigames), Rabbid Peach goes straight for the jugular.
Sadly, the clip only showed the brief interaction between Rayman and the Rabbids, without showing any of his gameplay or really revealing much about the expansion at all, beyond teasing that it takes place in a hotel. As we said above, it was only a short look at the DLC, but considering how long it's been since we saw Rayman in anything, it was a nice surprise. The late 2023 release date was also reconfirmed, so it's still on track for next year.
It's been a while since we last heard about Sparks of Hope's Rayman DLC, which makes sense considering it's the final part of the game's season pass. The original announcement took place during September 2022's Ubisoft Forward via a short teaser that showed the top of Rayman's head within a lineup of Rabbids.
Shortly after that trailer, Ubisoft shared more information on the DLC, including revealing a full look at Rayman's character model, which takes cues from his appearance in the original games and post-Hoodlum Havoc. The first image of Rayman's model also contained hints that seem to indicate that past levels from Rayman games will be making a return, including Band Land and Picture City. After that, Ubisoft confirmed that the DLC would pair Rayman alongside Rabbid Peach and Rabbid Mario and that it was aiming for release in late 2023.