Beyond Good & Evil 2 Is Somehow Still Alive After Nearly Two Decades

If you thought Beyond Good & Evil 2 had quietly disappeared into gaming history, think again. Ubisoft’s famously long-running project is apparently still alive and in active development, nearly two decades after it was originally announced.

The latest sign of life comes from Ubisoft writer Rik Godwin, who revealed that he has been working on Beyond Good & Evil 2 for the past few months in a support and consulting role. Godwin even noted that he had checked whether he was allowed to publicly share the information before doing so.

It may not be the major gameplay reveal fans have been waiting for, but after years of uncertainty surrounding the project, simply hearing that people are actively working on the game is noteworthy.

An Almost Unbelievable Development History

Beyond Good & Evil 2 was originally announced all the way back in 2008, making its development history almost old enough to vote.

The project then effectively vanished for years before Ubisoft brought it back into the spotlight at E3 2017 with an ambitious cinematic presentation. Ubisoft followed that with gameplay demonstrations in 2018, showing a huge science-fiction adventure involving planetary exploration, spaceships and seamless travel through an enormous world.

Then things went quiet again.

The game has undergone major changes behind the scenes over the years. Michel Ancel, creator of the original Beyond Good & Evil and one of the major creative forces behind the sequel, left Ubisoft and the video game industry in 2020. Creative director Emile Morel tragically died in 2023 at the age of 40, with Fawzi Mesmar later taking over creative leadership of the project.

The extraordinarily long development cycle has made Beyond Good & Evil 2 one of gaming's most infamous examples of development limbo.

Yet Ubisoft continues to insist that the project exists.

Ubisoft Is Still Hiring Developers for the Game

Perhaps the strongest evidence that Beyond Good & Evil 2 remains an active project isn't Godwin's comment at all.

Ubisoft is currently advertising development positions specifically for BGE2.

A Ubisoft recruitment listing for a Lead Level Designer describes Beyond Good & Evil 2 as an open-world action-adventure game and a direct prequel to the original 2003 title. The listing says the game is being built using Ubisoft's proprietary Voyager engine and is intended to provide seamless exploration and space piracy across an entire solar system.

Another current Ubisoft listing seeks a Gameplay Animation Director to work on the project alongside creative director Fawzi Mesmar. Interestingly, Ubisoft says candidates joining the studio may eventually get hands-on experience with the game during the recruitment process.

That suggests there is considerably more happening behind closed doors than Ubisoft's public silence might imply.

The Original Vision Appears to Remain

Ubisoft's official website also continues to maintain a dedicated page for Beyond Good & Evil 2.

According to the company, the game remains a prequel to the original Beyond Good & Evil, taking players to System 3 and allowing them to rise from an ordinary pirate to a legendary one.

Ubisoft still describes the game as an action-adventure RPG supporting both solo play and cooperative multiplayer, with exploration taking place across planets and space.

How closely the game currently in development resembles the enormous project Ubisoft demonstrated several years ago is much less clear.

After such a long development period, changes in leadership and years without a substantial public demonstration, it would be risky to assume everything shown in 2017 and 2018 remains representative of the final game.

It Even Survived Ubisoft's Restructuring

The project's continued existence is particularly interesting considering Ubisoft's recent restructuring and cancellation of several games.

Earlier in 2026, Ubisoft confirmed that Beyond Good & Evil 2 had survived a wider review of its development pipeline. The company described the game as remaining a priority within its strategy focused on open-world adventures.

That doesn't provide us with a release date, platforms or even a release window, but it does indicate that Ubisoft has not simply forgotten about the project.

Combined with the current recruitment listings and Godwin's confirmation that he has recently been working on the game, the evidence points toward active development continuing in 2026.

So When Will We Actually See It?

That's the question Ubisoft still isn't answering.

There has been no new release date and no major public gameplay presentation showing what the current incarnation of Beyond Good & Evil 2 actually looks like.

At this point, another spectacular trailer probably wouldn't be enough either. After almost two decades of announcements, changes and silence, players will likely want to see substantial gameplay from something resembling the version they might eventually be able to buy.

Still, for a game that has repeatedly looked destined to disappear into Ubisoft's archives, Beyond Good & Evil 2 continues to stubbornly survive.

Nearly 18 years after its original announcement, developers are working on it, Ubisoft is recruiting people specifically to build it, and the publisher continues to publicly list it as an upcoming project.

Beyond Good & Evil 2 may have spent an extraordinary amount of time floating through development space, but against all expectations, the ship apparently still has a crew.