Beyond Good and Evil 2 Still Needs a Few More Years

Over the last several years, the gaming community has been no stranger to the negative reports and rumors surrounding Beyond Good and Evil 2’s turbulent development. In 2020, the game’s director Michel Ancel left the project and the games industry entirely but had said that the project was “going super well.” It’s been two years since Ancel’s departure and not much else has been said officially about the title apart from that it is still in development at Ubisoft.

Last month, we reported that Beyond Good and Evil 2 had started external playtesting, with two sources providing screenshots and video footage of the game under the condition that the images and footage were not made public.

Looking at the footage, it is clear that the game looks far more incomplete than the footage shared by Ubisoft in December 2018, suggesting that the game has been overhauled since the gameplay was revealed.

It’s understood that you’re able to create your own character in Beyond Good and Evil 2 and use presets to start designing around your character. One example seen was a character that looked like a shark, and another was a panda. These characters could have your typical customization options added to your desire.

Sources had said that the game still feels “years away” and “lacks direction,” whilst another source had said they had “no idea what I was doing when playing.”

The honest criticism makes sense, too, with Sarah Arellano recently announcing that she is the Lead Writer on Beyond Good and Evil 2, which implies the game still has a story to be written. Arellano previously worked as the Narrative Designer for Blizzard on World of Warcraft.

To me, from seeing footage and gameplay, it’s clear that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is probably another couple of years away, but that’s not that long if you’ve been waiting 15 years already. Ubisoft is scheduled to show off a new showcase event this September, but it’s unclear if the event will feature Beyond Good and Evil 2. Recent external playtests could indicate that the team is gearing up for some kind of reveal, but no rumors or official comments have been made thus far.

The first installment of the franchise, Beyond Good and Evil, generally received positive reviews from critics and players alike. One of the well-received features of the game was its graphics and it’s possible that the team felt limited by past-generation console hardware. 

While the game was not a commercial success on its own, it did receive many nominations and won several video game awards.

There are plenty of high expectations for Ubisoft to deliver with its sequel, but a couple of more years in the oven might be what it takes for the studio to deliver a stellar second title.