There have been a number of games stuck in development hell over the years. Final Fantasy XV, Duke Nukem Forever, and Dead Island 2 all come to mind, but there’s another offender in the game of seemingly infinite development cycles. Beyond Good and Evil 2 began development back in 2007, a scant four years after its cult classic predecessor came out in 2003. Although the older title did not initially meet with success, it gradually accrued a devoted fan following due to its interesting world, Zelda-like design, and unique photography focus. The sequel has had a couple reveals, though Ubisoft recently stated that development is progressing smoothly.
After being first publicly announced in 2008, Beyond Good and Evil 2 went underground for a long time. Michel Ancel was happy to discuss light details and reaffirm the game’s continued development, but little of substance actually materialized. Some leaked footage dropped in 2012, though at this point it seems unlikely that the earliest public materials for BG&E2 still pertain to the game’s actual contents. A 2015 update confirmed that BG&E2 was still in development by Ancel and Ubisoft Montpellier, but updates were few and far between. Years later, Michel Ancel declared that Beyond Good and Evil 2 would not be at E3 2017 — and was fortunately proven wrong.
A Whole New World
The Beyond Good and Evil 2 that was unveiled in 2017 was very different from the one revealed over a decade beforehand. This title will be a prequel to the first game, and is setting up a dramatically different experience compared to the original. Gone is the compact slice of the planet Hillys, where Jade and her adoptive uncle Pey’j take a hovercraft around the region to take pictures and help the local resistance fight the oppressive Alpha Sections and alien DomZ. Now, the new game is set to follow a group of space pirates questing throughout System 3 in the hunt for “true freedom.”
Players will be able to create their own character, and follow them on a journey from a lowly grunt to the captain of their spacefaring crew. On the way, players will get to recruit different characters, including Pey’j from the first game, and sail around an open world using different spaceships. The game is primed to be an enormous singleplayer experience, possibly even the first true “AAAA” game, if Ubisoft Paris Senior Art Technical Director Cyril Masquilliere is to be believed.
This setup is a dramatic departure, shifting the genre around from a Zelda-like action-adventure to an open world action-RPG. The precise end goal of this trip is unclear right now, but there’s a chance it could involve finding and navigating the anomalous “Moksha’s Gate,” before or after repelling the currently villainous Jade and her contingent of Alpha Sections. Thus far, no details on the actual gameplay loop or objectives have been revealed, with the assumption being that the development teams working on it are still trying to lay the groundwork for the game’s massive interstellar world.
Still Trying To Achieve Liftoff
Unfortunately for fans, there’s really no telling when they’ll find out what Beyond Good and Evil 2 has in store for them. Development was off and on leading up to the 2017 re-reveal, and according to Michel Ancel, development was still essentially at “day zero” at that point because Ubisoft Montpellier spent three years making the technology used in crafting the game. While it has received a handful of gameplay showings since E3 2017, the only other big conference trailer was the E3 2018 one that revealed more characters, and the return of Jade. Every other showing has been a tech demo or general demonstration of what the game is supposed to be like.
While the player’s objectives haven’t been detailed yet, a number of their tools and abilities have been. Players have access to a jetpack and a personal spaceship, allowing them to quickly and freely explore various worlds present in the game at their leisure. The way this plays out is not unlike what is possible in No Man’s Sky, although Beyond Good and Evil 2 will have a lot more bespoke design work going into its worlds. Some combat footage of the character Shani has also been shown off, with her using a bladed staff to fight. This calls back to Jade’s combat ability in the first game. Supposedly, photography will still be present, but no details have been revealed.
It seems like devoted BG&E fans will have a bit longer to wait, as the project director Michel Ancel left Ubisoft and the games industry entirely in September 2020. Ubisoft quickly followed this news up by stating that Beyond Good and Evil 2 was in a playable state, and that a proper gameplay reveal would be coming in 2021. Hopefully, that means Beyond Good and Evil 2 will have a major showing at Ubisoft’s E3 2021 conference.
That potential update may also include the firm announcement of a date for the closed beta that was promised back in 2018. It’s also unknown just how much of an impact the HitRecord program that allows fans to submit content for the game has had, though as of a 2020 update, it was still up and running.
That concludes the extent of the public’s knowledge regarding Beyond Good and Evil 2. According to the most recent reports, the fanbase should finally be getting another big update some time in 2021, probably at E3. The pandemic can’t have done any good for this title’s already troubled development, but there’s a chance that an endpoint for this long and confusing journey could surface soon. For Beyond Good and Evil fans, there’s really not much more that they can ask for.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 is currently in development.