diff --git a/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/extract_xgen.py b/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/extract_xgen.py
index 0cc842b4ec..fb097ca84a 100644
--- a/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/extract_xgen.py
+++ b/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/extract_xgen.py
@@ -65,9 +65,10 @@ class ExtractXgen(publish.Extractor):
                 )
                 cmds.delete(set(children) - set(shapes))
 
-                duplicate_transform = cmds.parent(
-                    duplicate_transform, world=True
-                )[0]
+                if cmds.listRelatives(duplicate_transform, parent=True):
+                    duplicate_transform = cmds.parent(
+                        duplicate_transform, world=True
+                    )[0]
 
                 duplicate_nodes.append(duplicate_transform)
 
diff --git a/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/validate_xgen.py b/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/validate_xgen.py
index 2870909974..47b24e218c 100644
--- a/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/validate_xgen.py
+++ b/openpype/hosts/maya/plugins/publish/validate_xgen.py
@@ -57,3 +57,16 @@ class ValidateXgen(pyblish.api.InstancePlugin):
                     json.dumps(inactive_modifiers, indent=4, sort_keys=True)
                 )
             )
+
+        # We need a namespace else there will be a naming conflict when
+        # extracting because of stripping namespaces and parenting to world.
+        node_names = [instance.data["xgmPalette"]]
+        for _, connections in instance.data["xgenConnections"].items():
+            node_names.append(connections["transform"].split(".")[0])
+
+        non_namespaced_nodes = [n for n in node_names if ":" not in n]
+        if non_namespaced_nodes:
+            raise PublishValidationError(
+                "Could not find namespace on {}. Namespace is required for"
+                " xgen publishing.".format(non_namespaced_nodes)
+            )
diff --git a/website/docs/artist_hosts_maya_xgen.md b/website/docs/artist_hosts_maya_xgen.md
index ec5f2ed921..db7bbd0557 100644
--- a/website/docs/artist_hosts_maya_xgen.md
+++ b/website/docs/artist_hosts_maya_xgen.md
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ Create an Xgen instance to publish. This needs to contain only **one Xgen collec
 
 You can create multiple Xgen instances if you have multiple collections to publish.
 
+:::note
+The Xgen publishing requires a namespace on the Xgen collection (palette) and the geometry used.
+:::
+
 ### Publish
 
 The publishing process will grab geometry used for Xgen along with any external files used in the collection's descriptions. This creates an isolated Maya file with just the Xgen collection's dependencies, so you can use any nested geometry when creating the Xgen description. An Xgen version will consist of: