Last week, Beyond Good & Evil 2 creator Michel Ancel told fans to expect a playable beta of the game towards the end of 2019. It was disappointing news, perhaps, for those eager to explore the kind of worlds glimpsed in last year's flashy E3 debut trailer. But it was also news which should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone following the game's still-early progress.
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Key events
18th June 2018
11th June 2018
4th May 2018
8th May 2012
11th November 2011
30th September 2010
30th May 2008
Beyond Good & Evil 2 beta "end of next year"
Jade empire.
A beta version of Beyond Good & Evil 2 is due for release towards the end of 2019, creator Michel Ancel has said.
Ubisoft Montpellier's ambitious, currently-half-built open world multiplayer space opera thing got another showing at E3 this year - where we were treated to around 30 minutes of gameplay behind closed doors.
We'll have more on what we saw shortly, but as impressive as BG&E2's tech currently is - and as lovely as that CGI trailer reintroducing BG&E1's Pey'J and Jade was - it was clear the game still had a long way to go.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 will include the main characters of Beyond Good & Evil, Ubisoft has just confirmed during its E3 press conference. It's a huge surprise, seeing as both were kept out of the game's reveal a year ago.
Jade is described as an antagonist to the game's main cast. She's younger and fierce looking (BG&E2 is a prequel) and, even more surprisingly, appears to be allied with the BG&E enemies, the Domz.
Pey'J is also back, as your ship's cook. He also looks a little younger.
Fans got a first glimpse at Beyond Good and Evil 2 gameplay last night in a developer livestream filled with information about the work-in-progress game.
The footage shows multiplayer spaceship combat, on-foot melee fighting and sweary monkey shipmate Knox in action.
It was the highlight of a half hour Twitch stream which featured creator Michel Ancel and others discussing the game and its development.
Ubisoft safe from hostile Vivendi takeover
Christmas for Yves.
Ubisoft has emerged victorious in the long-running battle to stave off a hostile Vivendi takeover.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 characters, ships, story detailed
"Who is Jade? She's very mysterious."
Ubisoft has revealed new characters, spaceships and story details from Beyond Good & Evil 2 in a just-finished livestream.
VideoWatch: What you need to know about Beyond Good & Evil 2
Plus more videos from Outside Xbox.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 resurfaced spectacularly at E3, promising a prequel on an interplanetary scale. But with no release date in sight and gameplay footage thin on the ground, what can we expect from one of the most anticipated games to ever claw its way out of development limbo? Find the answers in the following video.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 reveals awe-inspiring in-engine demo
Michel Ancel's space odyssey takes us from simians to the stars.
Last week Beyond Good & Evil 2 director and series creator Michel Ancel told quite the tale of his upcoming game. He spoke of procedurally-generated star systems, simulated sunsets, and spaceships of various builds blazing through the cosmos. Now, we can actually see what he's talking about as Ubisoft revealed the first in-engine footage of Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 lets you create your own character
Sounds like No Man's Sky meets Breath of the Wild.
Ubisoft has unveiled loads of new details about Beyond Good & Evil 2 and it sounds like it's going to rival No Man's Sky as the most ambitious game of its era. Based on how close it comes to achieving its cosmic pitch, it will either be the greatest game ever or a massive disappointment. Either way, it will make Peter Molyneux's grandiose ambitions sound tame in comparison. Strap in!
Michel Ancel doesn't think BG&E 2 is a Switch exclusive, and he would know
Says platform listings on official site are "a little buggy".
A common rumour that Beyond Good & Evil 2 would be a Switch exclusive was effectively quashed today, as series creator Michel Ancel took to Instagram to say the much anticipated prequel is "no Switch exclusive as far as I know."
Given that he's the creative director on the game, it seems like he would know.
The game's official website asked people to sign up for their platform of choice with the options being PS4, Xbox One and PC, but Ancel claimed that the site was "a little buggy" and that these choices may not represent the game's final platforms.
Selling video games to people who like video games should not be hard. Often, though, it seems like the hardest thing in the world - especially at E3, where even the greats can stumble on stage. Over the last few years, it seems to have been getting harder and harder, too. Each summer, EA struggles bravely to simulate convincing human behaviour as it trots viewers through the mega-brands. Bethesda scowls through the smoke and gunfire as it conjures Nazis and radioactive horrors. Microsoft opts for T-shirts and leather jackets, and looks less like a new Top Gear presenting team, which would be bad enough, and more like a series of rookie commanders-in-chief, lecturing the troops on the deck of a battleship. And it never really feels like it's anybody's fault. It just feels like glossy conferences are a deeply imperfect means for exploring the joys of this particular industry. They're good at expressing the idea that games are a serious business, that they are expensive undertakings put together by serious professionals, but they're less good at acknowledging that games are fun, that they're amongst the most human of human artefacts, even if underneath it all they're made of light and maths.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 finally resurfaces, gets a full CGI trailer
It's a prequel, set before Jade was born, featuring co-op.
After nearly 15 years the long, long, loooong anticipated sequel to Beyond Good & Evil has finally been unveiled. Only it isn't a sequel at all, but rather a prequel.
Indeed series creator Michel Ancel is full of surprises. Closing Ubisoft's E3 press conference moments ago, Ubisoft unveiled a CGI trailer showing the new cast of this adventure.
The trailer begins with an anthropomorphic monkey trading a relic for a disc with a sinister-looking pig-man sporting a Fu Manchu moustache. The deal goes south when the pig-man realises he's been given a chocolate trophy and things go all The Fifth Element as the monkey man hops onto his getaway flying motorbike driven by a dark-skinned human woman with a fro.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 won't be at E3
"Sometime this year, you should hear about it!"
Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel has confirmed that the long-anticipated Beyond Good & Evil 2 won't be at this year's E3 in June.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is almost definitely in development
UPDATE: Ubisoft confirms. It's finally happening!
UPDATE 6th October 2016: Ubisoft has confirmed Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in development.
Michel Ancel is getting Beyond Good & Evil fans excited again
UPDATE: More BG&E2 concept art revealed.
UPDATE 29/9/16 9.15am: He's done it again - Michel Ancel has posted another piece of artwork, and this time we're even more certain its concept art for Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Feature13 years ago I was held at gunpoint, kidnapped and shoved into the boot of my car
What Beyond Good & Evil developer Francesco Cavallari did next - then and now.
Held at gunpoint and shoved into the boot of his own car, programmer Francesco Cavallari was forced to consider his options.
Beyond Good & Evil developer has an incredible story to tell
Meanwhile, Michel Ancel still working on BG&E2.
Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel has revealed an incredible story about a developer who worked on the game's PC build.
Ancel dividing time 50-50 between Wild and Ubisoft
But what does this mean for Beyond Good & Evil 2?
Michel Ancel, the French game designer famed for his work on Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil, is still splitting his work between Ubisoft and his own newly formed indie studio Wild Sheep, where he's working on the ambitious open world survival game Wild.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 E3 no-show sets tongues wagging
Ubisoft says Michel Ancel still working on mystery projects.
Beyond Good & Evil 2's E3 no-show sparked a flurry of reports into the status of celebrated designer Michel Ancel's role at publisher Ubisoft last night.
Michel Ancel starts new studio, but remains at Ubisoft
Who confirms that he's working on Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Rayman and Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel has started his own studio.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 artwork teased by Michel Ancel
Not at all Jaded.
Rayman creator Michel Ancel has shown off a new look at Beyond Good & Evil's main character, Jade - presumably her appearance in the cult adventure's on-again, off-again sequel.
Michel Ancel outlines vision for next-gen Beyond Good & Evil 2
Announcement possible "in the next year".
Beyond Good & Evil 2 will massively expand the scope of the original game and stretch across multiple cities and planets, according to creator Michel Ancel. And while it's not yet confirmed that the game is Ubisoft Montpellier's next project, it could be announced within the next year.
So, what's happening with Prince of Persia, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Far Cry 4?
They're all cooking, but which one's on the top shelf of the oven?
There are three games we expect Ubisoft is making but has yet to reveal: a new Prince of Persia, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Far Cry 4.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still coming, Ubisoft boss promises
CV hints at possible Wii U version.
Ubisoft is still planning a sequel to its much-loved 2003 adventure Beyond Good & Evil, the company's boss has confirmed.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 development delayed by Rayman
Creator needs an extra pair of hands.
The long-awaited Beyond Good & Evil sequel is being held up by the development of Rayman titles, Ubisoft's CEO has said.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 in-engine footage leaks
Get your Peepers on this.
More footage from Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil 2 has leaked, this time courtesy of Unseen64.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 in "active creation"
Ubisoft can't commit to 2013 launch, claims it "needs more tech".
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in an "active creation stage", creator Michel Ancel has confirmed, but reiterated the game was unlikely to launch during the current console generation.
Ancel shows off Beyond Good & Evil 2 footage
New concept art, gameplay clip within.
Unseen concept art and footage from in-limbo sequel Beyond Good & Evil 2 was shown off by creator Michel Ancel late last week.
Rayman Origins sales will help Beyond Good & Evil 2
Success will Pey'j wages at Ancel studio.
The success of cel-shaded adventure Rayman Origins could help the long-awaited Beyond Good & Evil sequel see light of day.
Ubisoft designer Michel Ancel, creator of both franchises, will get "more leeway" should Origins perform well at retail, the company's sales exec Tony Key told Industry Gamers.
"Ultimately, Rayman is [Ancel's] original creation, and if all the people that love Beyond Good & Evil understand he is more than a one trick pony... and that if Rayman: Origins does well, it gives him more leeway for other opportunities because he has to build up his studio," Key said.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 "needs power"
Ancel discusses possible next-gen release.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 might be too ambitious for the current generation of consoles to handle, creator Michel Ancel has revealed.
BG&E2 to miss current generation
Rayman Origins is priority, says Ancel
Top game designer Michel Ancel has revealed that the sequel to Beyond Good & Evil will not be released on current-gen consoles. Instead, his Ubisoft Montpellier team is focusing on the upcoming Rayman Origins.
Ubisoft: I Am Alive and BG&E2 safe
Terminated projects were unannounced.
Those worried that I Am Alive and Beyond Good & Evil 2 have been cancelled need not.
"Keep the faith" for Beyond Good & Evil 2
Ubisoft discusses sequel status.
Things have been worryingly quiet on the Beyond Good & Evil 2 front since it was first revealed back in 2008. Is the sequel to Ubisoft's beloved but under-performing 2003 adventure classic still alive? Or has the publisher got cold feet and canned it?
Beyond Good & Evil HD confirmed
Jade's had a makeover.
Ubisoft will release a high definition version of cult classic Beyond Good & Evil on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.
It'll be the same game released in 2003 but with HD visuals, reports IGN.
The character models and textures will receive a makeover, and the sountrack is being re-mastered.
Guillemot urges "patience" with BG&E2
Because "it will be perfect".
Yves Guillemot, captain of the Ubisoft ship, has asked that you are patient with the development of Beyond Good & Evil 2. What Michel Ancel is creating, he said, will be "perfect".
Ancel using small team to make BG&E2
Wants it to have "soul", not be "commercial".
Michel Ancel has revealed that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in development with a very small team at Ubisoft's Montpellier studio.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 still in development
And Michel Ancel's still at Ubisoft.
Ubisoft has dismissed suggestions that Michel Ancel has left the company, confirming that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in development.
Ubisoft: BG&E2 is still in development
No word on when it's out yet though.
The absence of Beyond Good & Evil 2 from any of Ubisoft's financial chatter raised questions - but fear not, the sequel is still in development.
Ubisoft cagey about BG&E2 status
Won't discuss those "on hold" claims.
Ubisoft has declined to comment on reports that Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been put on hold.
No Beyond Good and Evil 2 at E3
Ubisoft confirms it's a no-show.
Ubisoft has told Eurogamer there are no plans to show Beyond Good and Evil 2 at this year's E3.
BG&E2 inspired by September 11
Plus politics and current affairs in general.
Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel has revealed his inspiration for the game's sequel.
BG&E2 to be "more immersive, complex"
Hardware can finally match Ancel's ideas.
Michel Ancel believes that, with the power of the new consoles, he can finally fulfil his original ambitious ideas for Beyond Good & Evil.
FeatureRetrospective: Beyond Good & Evil
Photograph-'em-up.
Thank goodness, yes it is. There's a horrible tension when you return to a game that's entered legend. What if it was hype? What if things have moved on so far that it creaks and you feel silly trying to play it? Worst of all, what if you've been desperately hoping for an oft-suggested sequel, getting excited at the prospect of its existence, and then you discover the original wasn't what you remembered? Thank goodness, Beyond Good & Evil is still every bit as wonderful.
FeatureComing Attractions: Action & Adventure
Get juiced and get thinking.
We've had indie and esoterica, sports and music, MMOs and RPGs, and fighting and strategy, which just leaves the glamour girls of action, adventure, shooters and racing to strut their stuff.
BG&E sequel to be "more accessible"
Ubi wants to appeal to casual gamers.
Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot has said Beyond Good & Evil 2 will be "more accessible" so more casual gamers will want to buy it.
He was speaking at the recent UbiDays event, where the very first teaser trailer for the game was shown.
"We saw with Beyond Good & Evil that so many customers were extremely happy with the game. We had a different audience at that time. We had more core gamers than casual gamers than we have today," Yves Guillemot told Next-Gen.biz.