Beyond Good And Evil 2 Creative Director Emile Morel Has Died

He died at the young age of 40.

By Shahmeer Sarfaraz July 6, 2023

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The Ubisoft veteran and Beyond Good and Evil 2’s creative director, Emile Morel, has suddenly died at the young age of 40, shocking the gaming industry. Many colleagues have expressed condolences.
One friend described him as a great and kind partner during all the years at Ubisoft together. The company has not yet clarified the cause of death; it has also not officially commented on his passing.
Emile Morel has worked on the popular project Rayman Legends in the past, where he took the role of the lead game designer. He had worked at Ubisoft’s Montpellier studio since 2009.
He had also worked on Beyond Good and Evil 2 for a long time as an associative creative director, joining as the creative director only earlier this year following the exit of Jean-Marc Geffroy.

The Ubisoft veteran and creative director for Beyond Good and Evil 2, Emile Morel, has suddenly passed away at the age of 40, shocking the entire gaming industry. The passing of the game dev was initially reported by IGN after his colleagues were spotted giving condolences on LinkedIn. Morel boasted an incredible track record in the gaming industry, having worked at Ubisoft’s Montpellier studio since 2009.

Emile Morel, creative director of BGE2, left us behind this week at the shockingly young age of 40. A cherished colleague for over a decade at Ubisoft Montpellier, we laughed and wept through good times and bad, and shipped a lot great games together,” stated Emile Morel’s former colleague M. Gabrielle Shrager

The colleague continues to express her sadness because of his sudden passing. “Emile Morel was so proud of Beyond Good and Evil 2, the Space Monkeys, and his teammates. He will be sorely missed.” Another colleague, Greg Hermittant, also chimed in on LinkedIn to express his pain over the death of his dear friend, calling him a “great and kind partner” during all the years at Ubisoft together.

I’m grateful to have worked with you on so many projects. Even through the most difficult times, you always remained the caring and supportive person you were with your beautiful positive mind. But the most important is the wonderful moments we had. With no doubts Rayman Legends is my best memory.”

Ubisoft has not yet officially announced the cause of Emile Morel’s death, leaving gamers saddened about the loss of such a major contributor to the gaming industry. The giant conglomerate has yet to comment on the young passing of the game dev.

The dev worked on one of the most critically acclaimed 2D games of all time, Rayman Legends, in the past, where he took the role of the lead game designer. He had also worked on brewing Beyond Good and Evil 2 for a long time as an associative creative director, joining as the creative director only earlier this year following the exit of Jean-Marc Geffroy. It is also sad news for the title since it has seen its fair share of troubles in the past.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been stuck in development hell for a long time after being announced in 2017 at the E3 event. However, it was initially teased over 14 years ago in the Ubidays event in 2008, which makes it the most delayed title in history. Ubisoft has adopted a silent approach to the project, and we have not heard anything substantial since its reveal so far.

The project has not been shelved and is still in development, according to the reports last year. Beyond Good and Evil 2 conducted external playtesting last year, but the testers were not satisfied at all. As per a report by the insider Tom Henderson, the project still seemingly needs a few more years before it’s ready. The death of creative director Emile Morel is yet another major setback for the game and may cause a long delay in its release.

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