It has been over four years since Beyond Good & Evil 2 was announced during E3 2017 and yet it feels like it's still nowhere close to releasing. The game was completely absent during Ubisoft's E3 presentation this year and, naturally, people are nervous if the game is even going to release at all. Fortunately, Ubisoft assures that development is progressing. The bad news is that it sounds like it's a long, long, long way away from actually coming out.

In Ubisoft's latest quarterly financial report, it talks about expanding its premium content and ambitious plans for its franchises. Aside from other upcoming releases like Far Cry 6, it also explicitly mentions Beyond Good & Evil 2 and how it will revive the fan-favorite franchise. But this is the only time it's brought up in the entire report with no status update on development.

RELATED: Beyond Good and Evil 2 in Playable State, Gameplay Reveal Coming in 2021

According to PC Gamer, chief financial officer Frederick Duguet was asked if Beyond Good & Evil 2 will even release in Ubisoft's 2024 fiscal year (which runs from May 2023 to April 2024) and he could only say that, while progress is going well, it's too early to talk about it at this stage. It's good to know at least that the game isn't facing cancellation, but if what Duguet is saying is true, then the game may not even be out by 2024, which means the wait is going to even longer than one may have thought.

Although it was announced in 2017, there were talks of a sequel to the original 2003 title as early as 2007, meaning long-time fans have been waiting for well over ten years now. What likely didn't help the game's progress was when Beyond Good & Evil director Michel Ancel abruptly left the project last year and retired from making video games entirely. And this was one week before it was revealed he was being investigated for toxic and abusive behavior in the workplace.

It isn't the only major release Ubisoft is struggling to get out either. Pirate game Skull & Bones has been in development since 2013, eight years ago, and it doesn't seem to be any closer to releasing. A recent report highlights how turbulent development has been and mentions multiple internal reboots and another toxic work environment.

After the sexual harassment allegations from last year, Ubisoft vowed to improve and address this sort of thing, but reports from the last month or so have said that the initial problems are still being perpetuated. The company is even facing a lawsuit because of this, with CEO Yves Guillemot in particular accused of aiding in creating a culture of "institutional sexual misconduct."

Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in development for unspecified platforms.

MORE: Everything We Know About Beyond Good and Evil 2

Source: Ubisoft, PC Gamer