Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope may have been the swan song for the Ubisoft-developed Mario spinoff series, as allegedly another game was pitched by Ubisoft Milan, but was turned down.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was the first major third-party exclusive to hit the original Nintendo Switch, and ended up with 10 million players by its fifth anniversary. Naturally this led to a sequel being developed with Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which was branded as a bit of a sales disappointment by Ubisoft (with its CEO saying it should've waited for the Switch 2).
In the years following Sparks of Hope, Mario + Rabbids series director Davide Soliani left Ubisoft after a 25-year run, and co-founded Day 4 Night. Meanwhile, the studio behind the games – Ubisoft Milan – has started posting job listings for staff to work on a "prestigious AAA title for the Rayman brand." However, according to The Game Business co-founder Christopher Dring, Ubisoft Milan was seemingly more than ready to continue Mario + Rabbids despite the sales disappointment.
Speaking on The Game Business Show podcast, Dring noted that the Mario + Rabbids team have mostly disbanded, but said, "I know they had pitched another title that didn't get approved." He adds, "I don't know why but it just never happened, which was again, I think, tied to Nintendo."
It's unclear whether Dring means that the title was turned down by Nintendo, or Ubisoft didn't want to make a title in collaboration with them, but that probably explains why a number of members of the Mario + Rabbids team left alongside Soliani.
It's worth noting that Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope's final DLC was themed around Rayman, so perhaps Ubisoft Milan's new title is a new Mario + Rabbids-style game, but with Rayman taking the starring role from Mario.
Mario + Rabbids composer Grant Kirkhope was surprised to hear some of his music is making an appearance in Donkey Kong Bananza.
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