After a quick, surprise reveal in 2008 Beyond Good & Evil 2 went completely dark. No further trailers or info was released and many assumed that the project had died in development hell, like so many before it. These rumors only intensified when Michel Ancel, the creator of Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil, formed a new development company called Wild Sheep Studio. However, Eurogamer has confirmed that the game is not only alive, but is still being developed by its original creator.
The team at Ubisoft Montpellier are working with the core tenets of Beyond Good & Evil
In speaking with Eurogamer Xavier Pox, managing director of Ubisoft’s Annecy, Paris, and Montpellier studios said “We are fortunate to have some of the industry’s finest talents, including Michel Ancel, working with us at our studio. In addition to spending some of his time on this new venture, Michel is leading the creative development of select projects at Ubisoft Montpellier, including an extremely ambitious new title that is very close to his and the team’s heart.”
That last sentence seemed extremely tantalizing, so they reached out to Ubisoft for comment. Finally they confirmed that Ancel is working on the long-delayed Beyond Good & Evil 2. “In many ways, Beyond Good & Evil is an inimitable game – it appeals to all generations of gamers and is an inspiration behind many of Ubisoft Montpellier’s past and future games,” said an Ubisoft representative. “It’s still far too early to give many details about this new title, but what we can say is that while Michel and the team at Ubisoft Montpellier are working with the core tenets of Beyond Good & Evil, they’re developing something that aspires to push past the boundaries of a proverbial sequel and leverages next-gen technologies to deliver a truly surprising, innovative and exceptional game. The entire team is excited about the direction this extremely ambitious project is taking, and we’ll have more to share later, as it progresses.”
So, it seems like the wait has paid off and Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still on its way to gamers everywhere. When is still the most important question though, and it seems like we’ll have to keep waiting to get the answer to that, and all of our other many questions.
