Series creator Michel Ancel wants UbiArt, the tech behind the impressive-looking 2D game Rayman Origins, to be free for anyone who wants to use it. Develop reports that Ancel is aiming to make the UbiArt Framework open-source in the near future. "UbiArt has been built to be shared," he said.

"It won't be like the other game technologies, which are often just locked away," said Ancel. "If the guys who invented the paintbrush only kept it for themselves then fine art [would be in a sorry state], it would be ephemeral. So yes, I want [UbiArt] to be open source, I want it to go out and be shared and evolved."

Ancel compares it to artists at Disney, who are "happy to look at how other artists are developing their style. That whole medium has evolved on the basis of sharing ideas. But in games we lock it all in a black box and keep it to ourselves." He also suggests that sharing might help bolster independent developers, who are largely on their own.

UbiArt's licensing terms haven't been set yet, and Ancel says the Ubisoft executive team will be setting that policy. But, he believes that the tech will be free to use once it rolls out to a wider audience.