Mario + Rabbids Creator Davide Soliani Announces New Platforming Game Bradley the Badger | The Game Awards 2025

Davide Soliani, the mastermind behind Mario + Rabbids, has unveiled Bradley the Badger—his first project since departing Ubisoft and founding a new studio.

Bradley the Badger blends timeless platforming with inventive mechanics and a deeply meta narrative, where players guide a video game mascot through the unfinished creations of its own developer. The trailer unveiled during The Game Awards 2025 paid clear homage to Bloodborne, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Last of Us—and featured Marvel star Evan Peters as Bradley.

This is the debut title from Day 4 Night Studios, co-founded by Soliani and Christian Cantamessa, veteran of Red Dead Redemption, Shadow of Mordor, and Perfect Dark. Together with three former Ubisoft colleagues—Cristina Nava, Gian Marco Zanna, and Luca Breda—whose past work spans Mario + Rabbids, Just Dance, and Ghost Recon—they’re crafting a bold new vision.

As Bradley, you’ll explore unfinished game worlds, navigating them using an in-game Developer Kit. Live-action sequences will frame your journey, as you aid Bradley’s creator in completing what was left behind.

“Bradley the Badger is a love letter to games, creativity, and everyone who’s ever felt stuck in their career or artistic journey,” reads the official statement. “The experience extends beyond pixelated worlds with fleeting live-action moments, drawing from contemporary genres, tropes, and styles in modern gaming and media.”

Soliani rose to fame as the heartfelt mind behind Mario + Rabbids—an unexpected but deeply charming strategy hybrid released on the Nintendo Wii. His emotional reaction to the game’s E3 2017 reveal became iconic, yet after 25 years at Ubisoft, he departed in 2024 following the release of its sequel, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope—a title Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot later admitted was launched too soon, missing the chance to make a bigger impact on Switch 2.

“What we’re building at Day 4 Night reflects everything I’ve ever wanted to experience as a player—joy, adventure, poetry, action, wonder, and the simple delight of creating alongside friends,” said Soliani. “It’s a lullaby for my soul and a serenade to our industry—to the magic and madness of building worlds from nothing. It’s a story of triumphs, struggles, dreams, and lighting the path we walk together.”