Beyond Good & Evil 2 production status: where the prequel stands
Nearly two decades after the original Beyond Good & Evil debuted in 2003, Ubisoft Montpellier’s long-promised prequel, Beyond Good & Evil 2, remains a headline-grabbing but elusive project. Ubisoft first teased the sequel with a cinematic trailer at E3 2017; since then the title has appeared in occasional company showcases and rumor cycles. According to a new report from French outlet Origami, the project has yet to move into full-scale production and is still operating largely in pre-production and concept iteration phases.
What Origami reported and how Ubisoft’s project has shifted
Origami’s reporting, attributed to sources close to the development, describes a project that has undergone multiple strategic pivots. The outlet said Ubisoft Montpellier originally pursued a persistently online, massively connected design that would have let players create custom rebels to meet and undertake missions together in hub spaces. That approach, Origami’s sources claim, was later reduced to a more constrained multiplayer setup before shifting again toward a primarily single-player experience that could still include co-op elements.
Rewriting notable statements in journalistic terms: Origami contends the title has not reached a stage of “full production,” and that ideas around core mechanics, combat systems and scope have been repeatedly revised and abandoned. Sources told Origami that, at various points, the team experimented with an open-world adventure tone likened to The Legend of Zelda crossed with combat approaches compared to Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man, though those descriptions reflect internal comparisons rather than final design decisions.
Context inside Ubisoft and the broader franchise
Beyond Good & Evil 2 remains officially associated with Ubisoft Montpellier, the studio behind the original game. The franchise’s first entry launched on GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC in 2003 and has retained a devoted fanbase. Ubisoft as a publisher has gone through studio restructuring and layoffs in recent years, and in January 2024 the company cancelled the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake — a reminder of how vulnerable long-running projects can be.
What is verifiable: the 2003 release of Beyond Good & Evil, the 2017 CGI teaser from Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montpellier’s involvement, and Origami’s reporting that the sequel had not entered full production at the time of their sources. Beyond Good & Evil’s history means many fans still hope for further news and potential releases on modern platforms; historically the series has appeared across multiple consoles, and current-generation re-releases frequently appear on platforms like Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo eShop.
For now, Beyond Good & Evil 2 remains a work in progress whose next public milestone will be critical for confirming scope, platforms and a production timeline.