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Beyond Good & Evil 2 (working title), or BG&E2, is the sequel to the 2003 video game Beyond Good & Evil. It is being designed by Michel Ancel, the creator of the original game, and developed by him and his team at Ubisoft Montpellier. BG&E2 is being published by Ubisoft. Intended as the first part of a trilogy, the original Beyond Good & Evil won critical acclaim but failed to gain commercial success. The status of BG&E2 was unknown for several years until it was unveiled at Ubidays 2008 in the Louvre in Paris, France, on May 28, 2008.^[2][3][4]

Development

The original Beyond Good & Evil game was meant to be the first of a trilogy of games. Michel Ancel has stated that he wrote the story of the Beyond Good & Evil-universe to be longer than what is included in the first game, but because of the poor sales of the original game, Ubisoft was reluctant to invest in a sequel.^[5]

Michel Ancel first gave a hint about Beyond Good & Evil 2 in an interview with Nintendo Power, where he confirmed that he was working on a new project that means a lot to him. He also talked about Jade (the protagonist from the original game) and said that he really hopes that she will continue to keep her values and her personality.^[6]

Many rumors about a possible sequel have appeared since the release of the first game, which all seemed to be false until May 2008, when Ubisoft revealed a teaser trailer for Ubisoft Montpellier's new project which featured characters and remixed music from the original Beyond Good & Evil.^[7]

Announcement

A screenshot from the teaser trailer, showing Pey'j in the foreground.

A screenshot from a purported leaked trailer showing a woman being pursued through an urban setting in a third-person perspective.

Michel Ancel first talked about Beyond Good & Evil 2 being in production in an interview with the French magazine Jeux Vidéo Magazine, where he stated that the game has been in pre-production for a year, but was yet to be approved by Ubisoft.^[2] Less than two weeks later, a teaser trailer of the game, recorded entirely inside the game's engine, was shown at Ubidays. However, the game was presented only as the next project of Michel Ancel and Ubisoft Montpellier; no specific details, release date or title was announced. The trailer, showing off the highly advanced graphics of the game engine, depicts a broken-down hover-car on the shoulder of a desert road. Beside the vehicle sits Pey'j, one of the supporting characters from the original game. A woman resembling Jade, the protagonist, sits on the trunk in the background. Not much is revealed about the game itself.^[3][4] The Jeux Vidéo Magazine article also stated that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is under development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but this is not confirmed.^[8]

On December 18, 2008, at the VGL event in Paris, Ancel stated that Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been under development for a year and a half and that the development team have received total freedom from Ubisoft, giving them the opportunity to make the game how they want.^[9]

In an interview on March 21, 2009, Ancel stated that the game was still in pre-production and that they would not start actual development until they had decided on all the tools and processes needed to realize their vision of the game.^[10]

On May 8, 2009, a video was released onto the Internet showing a character resembling Jade running through a city, dodging its police force.^[11] On July 22, 2009, Laurent Detoc, CEO of Ubisoft North America, confirmed that the video had been leaked but said that this was not done intentionally. He continued to state that they had started working on Beyond Good & Evil 2 because they didn't want to abandon the IP as it has a cachet and authenticity about it, but also emphasized that although they are definitely working on the game it doesn't necessarily mean it's ever going to be released; that's something the future will decide.^[12] During the Gamescom convention in August 2009, Ubisoft representatives stated that the game's development was officially on-hold.^[13] However, shortly after the convention Ubisoft stated in an interview that work on the title had been neither abandoned nor put on hold.^[14] When fans asked for clarifications regarding the mixed signals coming from Ubisoft, a UK forum manager stated that it wasn't technically possible for the game to be delayed since it had not actually been officially announced.^[15] In November 2009, Geoffroy Sardin, the General Director of Ubisoft France, said that the rumors about the game being put on hold were false and that development was still on-going.^[16]

Cast

It is currently unknown if the cast of the original Beyond Good & Evil is coming back to work on Beyond Good & Evil 2. However, it is confirmed that Christophe Héral, the man who composed the music for the original game, will be back to write the musical score.^[17] In an interview with Jeux Vidéo Magazine, Ancel stated that a small team had already been working on the pre-production for a year.^[18]

Target audience

In an interview with Next-Gen, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that Beyond Good & Evil 2 will be made more accessible to the new generation of gamers, in an effort to make sure the sequel does not suffer the same commercial failure the original did.^[19] Guillemot clarified that statement later on, saying that they do not intend to make the game more casual game orientated.^[20]

Plot and setting

In the interview with Jeux Vidéo Magazine, Michel Ancel stated:

"[Beyond Good & Evil 2 will] be in continuity with the first game, with a big variety of levels, lots of emotion in the gameplay, and characters we care about. This time we are dealing with planet's future, and the relationship with animals..."^[2]

On April 3 Eurogamer.net published a translated interview with Ancel saying:

"There were a lot of inspirations: the Miyazaki universe, my own inspirations, politics and the media; the theme of September 11 - the CNN show with army messages and the fear climate. And it was a mix from other universes."^[21]

Ancel also said the game will be a direct sequel to the first game:

"But it is better to discover that when you play, ha ha! But it is clear we want to continue the story - we won't create characters, story. The story continues and we'll react on important events of the first." ^[21]

References

External links

• Official trailer (Uplay.com)

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

The sequel to the previous Beyond Good & Evil game.

Story

In various interviews with Michel Ancel, he stated this game will take place after the events of the previous game. According to him the sequal will focus on Hilly's future and relationship with the wildlife.

The actual story to this sequel isn't clear at the moment, and the plot may change during development. There's only been two known clips of the game shown online as of May 2009. The online teaser shows Jade and Pey'j stranded out in a desert with a run down hover car. While there's a clip of what looked like Beyond Good and Evil 2 showing Jade running from the police in third person camera view.

Characters

• Jade Jade appears to have gone for a new look by ditching the green headband and jacket. Her role in the series is still unknown, besides the questionable police pursuit scene.
• Pey'j Jade's uncle appears alive and well. Besides his left arm being wrapped in a bandage dull to the DomZ spore infection he got after he and the rest came back safely from the moon in the last game. His role in this game is still unknown.

It's not official as of yet if any more of the other characters from the previous installment will play any major role. Some of them may make cameos or be mentioned.