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By 1993, publisher Apogee Software (later 3D Realms) had proven itself as a major contender having released such successful titles as Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein 3D. So, it’s not surprising that many indie developers reached out in hopes that their next game could find the same success. Obviously, not all of them made the cut.
One rejected title, however, turned out to be a monumentally bad decision. In a tweet, the publisher (now known as Apogee Entertainment) revealed they were approached by Michel Ancel, who was working on a platformer called Rayman for French developer Ubisoft. Michel hoped to reach a publishing agreement between the two companies, but Apogee ultimately decided to pass.
Ubisoft instead decided to publish the title themselves, and you probably know the rest. Rayman released in 1995 across a number of platforms, including as part of the launch lineups in both North America and Europe for the Sony Playstation. The game was critically and commercially successful, leading to an extensive franchise that includes the Raving Rabbids spin-off.
While it’s easy to look back now and cringe over Apogee’s misstep, these types of things are common occurrences in the world of publishing. We can only hope that over the last thirty years, staffers have come to terms with it.
