Rayman Origins, a beautiful 2D adventure created within Ubisoft's UbiArt framework, was scheduled to launch on HD consoles by the end of this year. While the official website still believes that to be the case, it's now clear that the release has been delayed. Planned as an episodic series, Rayman Origins examines the mischievous beginnings of Michel Ancel's famous limber-yet-limbless hero, and his friendship with Globox, a boisterous frog-type ... thing.

Ubisoft has made no announcement regarding a delay, but a company representative confirmed to Joystiq that the first Origins episode would not make it out this year. (Obviously.)

Provided Rayman Origins doesn't vanish behind a veil of secrecy, Ancel fans should have a good year in 2011, which also promises a high-definition update of Beyond Good and Evil for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.