HomeNewsBeyond Good and Evil 2
Beyond Good & Evil 2’s new creative director wants to make it “truly unique”, but maybe just focus on finishing itFormer DICE design boss takes the helm
Former DICE design boss takes the helm
Image credit:Ubisoft
Image credit:Ubisoft
Ubisoft Montpellier’sBeyond Good And Evil 2has been delayed so much that it has transcended the label of “vapourware”, while staunchly refusing to become “abandonware”. Announced in 2008, it has now comfortably outstrippedDuke Nukem Foreveras the “triple-A” game with the longest development time. I’m sure there are a few indie passion projects that have been bubbling away in the shadows for longer, but nothing on this scale. What’s less tangible than vapour? Ectoplasm? The promises of small children?
Ah, we josh, Ubisoft, but only because we care. The originalBeyond Good And Evilwas a magnificentopen worlderwith a sense of mystery and whimsy that hasn’t quite been seen since. It had a photography element and a talking pig uncle who was an absolute liability in bossfights. I will pounce on any scrap of halfway-positive BG&E2 news I can find. For example, Beyond Good And Evil 2 has a new creative director, Fawzi Mesmar - Ubisoft’s vice president of global creative and the former head of design at Battlefield developers DICE.
Mesmar’s predecessor in the role was Emile Morel, a veteran Ubisoft designer and game director ofRayman Legends, who died suddenly in 2023 at the age of 40. Morel’s sad passing is the latest in a long series of misfortunes for the project and its team. According to series creator and former game director Michel Ancel, Beyond Good And Evil 2’s development has been on hold for significant chunks of the 16 years since it was announced. Ancel himself departed Ubisoft in September 2020, amid allegations of mismanagement; Ubisoft staff claimed at the time that he hadn’t been involved with Beyond Good & Evil 2 for a while.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 seemed most concrete back in 2017, when Ubisoft finally showed off some footage at E3. The header art above dates back to that time. It looked very weird for a triple-A blockbuster production, and also powerfully unfocussed - a mouthy hybrid ofOuter Wildsand Roblox, featuring Cockney monkeys - which perhaps explains the enormous development time. Rather than exploring a single planetary map, as in the first, players would zip about simulated solar systems of part-procedurally generated worlds. There was also a “Space Monkey Program” that would have let players create their own art and music for the game.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 Trailer - E3 2017Watch on YouTube
Beyond Good and Evil 2 Trailer - E3 2017
It’s unclear how BG&E2 has evolved since then, but Mesmar has a lot of experience overseeing vast productions, so hopefully, he can yank the pieces together in Morel’s stead. “Today I’m glad to share that I joined Beyond Good & Evil 2 as Creative Director. I have been working with those peeps for years now on this ambitious game and witnessed their talent firsthand,” he wrote onLinkedinthis week. “I am standing on the shoulders of creative giants that have supported the team before me, and I look forward to continuing to craft a game that is truly unique for players to enjoy.”
Ubisoft has some accompanying comment in which they note that “Mesmar previously collaborated with the Beyond Good & Evil 2 team as VP of Editorial”. In his capacity as a top Ubisoft honcho, he also contributed to development ofthis year’s Beyond Good & Evil remaster, which contained a few hints about the long-overdue sequel’s story (it’s actually a prequel).
