Mario + Rabbids Creator Davide Soliani Announces New Platforming Game Bradley the Badger | The Game Awards 2025
Davide Soliani, the lead creator behind the Mario + Rabbids games, has revealed Bradley the Badger — his first new project since leaving Ubisoft and forming a new studio.
Bradley the Badger mixes classic platforming gameplay with fresh twists and a rather meta-feeling story that sees players helping the video game mascot through its creator’s unfinished work. Tonight’s trailer, shown during The Game Awards 2025, featured obvious nods to Bloodborne, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us, and… Marvel star Evan Peters as Bradley.
The game is the first from Day 4 Night Studios, Soliani’s new outfit founded alongside Red Dead Redemption, Shadow of Mordor and Perfect Dark veteran Christian Cantamessa. The pair are joined by a trio of other former Ubisoft employees — Cristina Nava, Gian Marco Zanna and Luca Breda — who previously worked on publisher’s the Mario + Rabbids, Just Dance and Ghost Recon franchises.
Exploring the team’s new game as Bradley, you’ll visit numerous work-in-progress creations and have to traverse through them using an in-game Developer Kit. There will even be a few live-action scenes, framing your progress as you help Bradley’s creator.
“Bradley the Badger is a love letter to games, creativity, and everyone who has ever felt stuck in their career or artistic journey,” reads an official blurb. “The experience will expand beyond the game worlds with brief live-action moments, exploring various tropes, genres, and styles drawn from contemporary popular games and media.”
Soliani found fame and captured the internet’s heart as the lovable creator behind Mario + Rabbids, an unlikely but thoroughly enjoyable strategy game mash-up released for Nintendo Wii. Soliani’s emotional response to seeing the game announced to a warm reception back at E3 2017 became legendary, but the creator left Ubisoft in 2024 after 25 years, following the launch of the game’s sequel, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot later said he regretted launching too soon, rather than waiting and making a bigger splash on Switch 2.
“What we are crafting at Day 4 Night is a reflection of everything I’ve ever wanted to experience as a player – joy, adventure, poetry, action, wonder, and the pleasure of working with friends,” said Soliani. “It’s a lullaby for my soul and a serenade to our industry, to the magic and the madness of creating worlds from nothing. It’s a story about triumphs, challenges, dreams, to light the path we walk together.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
