Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been stuck in a rocky, eight-year long development cycle. The only consistency is that original creator and developer Michel Ancel remains in the driver’s seat.
Recently Ancel posted a picture to his Instagram feed. The picture shows what could be a young Pey’j on the shoulders of a new character. The caption reads: “Somewhere in system 4… – Thanks Ubisoft for making this possible!”
System 4 was the location of Beyond Good and Evil, all but confirming this piece of concept art from the long-awaited sequel.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been quiet for years. Ancel and Ubisoft crop up now and then to confirm that the game is still in active development.
In 2014, Ubisoft released a statement saying: “It’s far too early to give many details about this new title. We can say that while Michel and the team at Ubisoft Montpellier are working with the core tenets of BG&E, they’re developing something that aspires to push past the boundaries of a proverbial sequel.”
As recently as this year’s E3, Ubsioft CEO Yves Guillemont confirmed that the sequel is still being worked on, but admitted that that Ancel’s time is split between two games. Since 2014 Ancel formed an indie studio called Wild Sheep. They are currently working on WILD, a pre-historic survival game. He’s also still working on Beyond Good and Evil 2 at Ubisoft.
The concept art could spark a wave of excitement for fans who have been patiently waiting any news. But if that’s indeed a picture of young Pey’j (protagonist Jade’s protective and loyal friend), does that mean we’re getting a prequel? It would be a major bummer if the sequel didn’t include Beyond Good and Evil’s main character. Investigative photojournalist Jade Raymond is often cited as one of gaming’s best leading ladies.
The original Beyond Good and Evil was released in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC. It plays like a shorter 3D Zelda game on an alien planet, and retains a cult classic status. A remastered HD edition was later released in 2011 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
