Ubisoft chose a rather unusual way to herald the long-awaited return of its platformer Rayman. Toward the end of the publisher's 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference, CEO Yves Guillemot took the stage to tease a hodgepodge of Ubisoft's more covert projects, including Ubisoft Montpelier's god game Project DUST, the content-sharing platform ManiaPlanet, and Rayman Origins.

　　Rayman returns to his 2D roots this holiday. Rayman Origins' sparse introduction may have led some to believe that the game remains a ways off, but such is not the case. Over the weekend, Ubisoft revealed that the first episode will arrive for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 during the holiday season. The publisher noted that the remaining, as-yet-unspecified number of episodes will roll out in 2011. Ubisoft also said that it is currently considering bringing the episodic series to the Wii, PC, iPad, and 3DS next year.

　　The Rayman franchise received a reboot in 2006 with the release of Rayman Raving Rabbids. However, the psychotic bunnies quickly proved to be the stars of the new show, and Ubisoft opted to excise Rayman from the series in 2009. Rayman's latest incarnation will return the franchise to its side-scrolling 2D roots, presenting a quirky comedy in which the series protagonist teams up with an oddball companion.

　　For more on Rayman Origins, check out GameSpot's preview from E3 2010.