Beyond Good and Evil 2: Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft have teamed up to create the next action-adventure video game Beyond Good and Evil 2. In 2003, Beyond Good & Evil was released, and this book serves as a precursor to that story.
Uncertainty, skepticism, and rumors regarding the game’s future were common themes in media coverage during its development. Ubisoft previewed the sequel at Ubidays 2008, and after almost a decade of silence, it was finally unveiled at E3 2017; however, neither a release date nor the platform(s) it will be available on has been disclosed.
Dear Space Monkeys, we wanted to share an update; Michel Ancel has decided to retire from working in video games. Read on to find out more about our commitment to the high expectations you have for #BGE2:
— Beyond Good and Evil 2 (@bgegame) September 18, 2020
Due to its protracted development and absence of a release date, Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been dubbed vaporware by industry leaders like Jason Schreier. Beyond Good and Evil, 2 was in development for over 15 years, making it the longest video game ever. It was finally released in 2022, surpassing the previous record holder, Duke Nukem Forever (2011).
Beyond Good and Evil 2 Gameplay
Set at least a generation before the events of Beyond Good & Evil, the action-adventure game Beyond Good & Evil 2 is played from a third-person perspective in an open-world environment. The player creates a character who begins the game “from the very bottom of the social hierarchy,” a more typical role-playing mechanic compared to the original game.
You’re free to make the protagonist a man or a woman. The player gains access to new ships and crew members, both of which can be upgraded as the player progresses through the game. The players travel to other worlds, each with its own unique society, and complete missions in order to acquire new technology and other upgrades for their spaceship.
According to director Michel Ancel, the game will feature a storyline that evolves based on the player’s actions as they explore different worlds, as well as predetermined plot points.
The game will allow both solo and multiplayer experiences, with all players sharing the same realm and experiencing some events simultaneously. In order to play either the single-player or multiplayer modes of Beyond Good and Evil 2, a persistent internet connection is required.
☠️☠️☠️ Some good news for Beyond Good & Evil fans ☠️☠️☠️
A Netflix feature film adaptation of @Ubisoft's epic space pirate adventure is in development! pic.twitter.com/H5uMIXhir6
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) July 31, 2020
Beyond Good and Evil 2 Development
There has been much speculation that Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been stuck in development hell for quite some time. Ubisoft Montpellier’s new Voyager Engine is being used to create the game. Original game soundtrack composer Christophe Héral will be back for Beyond Good and Evil 2.
From 2003 to 2016: Preliminary Leaks and Rumors
Released in 2003, the first Beyond Good & Evil game received high marks from reviewers and quickly gained a devoted fanbase, but it ultimately bombed in the marketplace. The game’s universe, Ancel said, was too large for him to fit into a single game, so he planned for it to be the first in a trilogy. Ubisoft was hesitant to invest in a sequel because of the game’s dismal sales.
A Nintendo Power interview with Ancel in 2007 sparked early speculation of a follow-up, in which he discussed his desire to re-use Jade, the player-character from Beyond Good & Evil, without altering her personality.
According to a May 2008 interview with French gaming magazine Jeuxvideo.fr, Ancel revealed that Ubisoft had yet to greenlight the Beyond Good & Evil sequel despite it having been in pre-production for a year.
A trailer for Ancel and Ubisoft Montpellier’s next unannounced project, where they worked on Beyond Good & Evil, was published later that month as part of Ubisoft’s “Ubidays” event. In addition to featuring music from the original Beyond Good & Evil, the teaser also included what appeared to be Jade and Pey’j. Ubisoft stated that the entire teaser was captured in-engine, exhibiting high-resolution graphics befitting of current-gen systems.
Around May of 2009, a second, unofficial trailer for the game surfaced online, this time showing a character who could be Jade running across a crowded city street. Ancel verified the trailer’s authenticity, but Ubisoft claimed they had not intentionally leaked the video.
In the years following these trailers and all the way until 2016, the development status of Beyond Good and Evil 2 remained unknown due to contradictory assertions from Ubisoft and Ancel.
Despite repeated statements from both Ancel and Ubisoft that the game was still in production, speculation persisted that Ubisoft had shelved the project, that Ubisoft had not yet announced the title and, consequently, had not officially started production, and that Ancel had left Ubisoft Montpellier.
In 2016, Ancel said that they had temporarily shelved development on Beyond Good and Evil 2 in order to focus on Rayman Legends (2013), the creation of which had made it possible for the studio to create technologies that would aid in the creation of Beyond Good and Evil 2. Ubisoft later revealed that Ancel had split his time between working on Beyond Good and Evil 2 and his own studio’s independent project, Wild (produced by Wild Sheep Studios).
Publicly Announced at E3 2016
Ancel hinted that Beyond Good and Evil 2 may be a prequel by sharing in-game photos from the game featuring a younger Pey’j on social media in late 2016. Ubisoft soon after made the announcement publicly. After announcing that Beyond Good and Evil 2 would serve as a prequel to the first game, Ubisoft debuted the game’s first official teaser at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.
At E3, Ancel revealed that the 2008 and 2009 trailers were actually from work that was intended to be a narrative sequel to Beyond Good & Evil but was ultimately reworked as a prequel.
There has been no confirmation of which platforms will be supported. There had been speculation that it will debut as a limited-time Nintendo Switch (then known as NX) exclusive in the previous year, but Ancel dispelled those claims.
The game is listed as being compatible with Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in the “Space Monkey Program,” although Michel Ancel has indicated that these platforms have not yet been disclosed and that the listing is a result of an error.
You did it again! Our favorite picks from Phase 2 of #BGE2 and @HITRECORD collaboration deserve some spotlight! You can find them here: https://t.co/sPJkaoOINV pic.twitter.com/7hwouecXWb
— Beyond Good and Evil 2 (@bgegame) March 19, 2020
Ancel’s exit is scheduled for the year 2020.
After announcing his resignation from Ubisoft in September 2020, Ancel said that the project and Wild were in good hands.
Libération, a French newspaper that has been keeping tabs on Ubisoft’s problems since a series of sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against many high-level members of the company in the middle of 2020, has learned that members of Ancel’s team found Ancel’s leadership on the project to be unorganized and at times abusive, which led to the game’s development having many restarts and explains the delay since its 2010 announcement.
The Montpellier group had raised these issues with Ubisoft’s upper management as early as 2017, but Ancel’s close friendship with Yves Guillemot delayed significant changes until the internal reviews in 2020 that ultimately led to his departure. Before leaving Ubisoft, Ancel “hasn’t been directly involved in BG&E2 for some time now,” according to the business.
Ubisoft reported in July 2021 that work was “progressing nicely,” although the company did not provide a release date at the time. Beyond Good and Evil, 2 was in development for over 15 years, making it the longest video game ever. It was finally released in 2022, surpassing the previous record holder, Duke Nukem Forever (2011).
Check this out: @WHEric2 has something to remember BGE2 and his @HITRECORD experience by – an awesome tattoo! https://t.co/BWFmq3GapV
— Beyond Good and Evil 2 (@bgegame) June 10, 2020
Beyond Good and Evil 2 Design
In an effort to prevent the same commercial failure as the first, Beyond Good and Evil 2 will be made more accessible to the new generation of players, according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. Guillemot later elaborated, claiming they have no plans to cater to casual players.
The ability to use space travel to visit multiple planets is central to the gameplay. About three years before the E3 2017 unveiling, Ancel and the Ubisoft Montpellier team began developing a solar system modeling tool to be utilized in the game’s own engine named Voyageur.
This tool assembles planet-specific elements through a combination of procedural generation and specified components. Just before E3 2017, the development team finished the tool’s foundational work, paving the way for them to create the remainder of the game around it; at this time, Ancel regarded that they were still at “day zero” of the game’s development.
Frequently asked questions
Is Beyond Good and Evil 2 canceled?
The long-awaited Ubisoft project has a new main writer. Despite more than a decade of on-again, off-again production and the departure of its creator two years ago, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in the works.
Will Beyond Good and Evil 2 ever come out?
Ubisoft announced the beta for Beyond Good and Evil 2 at E3 2018. A playable beta was promised by Ubisoft CEO Michel Ancel at the end of 2019, yet here we are almost at the end of 2022.
How long has Beyond Good and Evil 2 been in development?
The sequel to Beyond Good & Evil was announced in 2008 and has been in development ever since. In terms of development time, this game has now surpassed Duke Nukem Forever, which was announced in 1997 and didn’t come out until 2011.
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