Despite Beyond Good and Evil 2 beating all odds and surviving the organizational overhaul at Ubisoft, the company has largely remained quiet on its development. Creative director Fawzi Mesmar, however, has taken to LinkedIn to assure fans that work on the game remains unaffected by the larger goings on at the company. In his post, Mesmar also discussed how he was saddened over the cancellation of several projects.
“Thank you for everyone who has reached out to me over the past few days in regards to recent news at Ubisoft,” he wrote. “Myself, my team and our project Beyond Good and Evil 2 are unaffected by the recent changes.”
“Needless to say, I am saddened by the cancellations that has affected my colleagues in other parts of Ubisoft and the industry. I urge everyone – myself included – to offer support whenever and however they can during these times.“
Mesmar capped off his message by mentioning that the team remains “committed and focused on delivering a remarkable game for our players to enjoy.”
Beyond Good and Evil 2‘s survival amidst Ubisoft’s recent cancellations came to light through rumors, with sources noting that the company has invested more than $500 million in its development so far. The current iteration of the project has been in development since 2017, and let’s not forget about its initial announcement in 2008.
Shortly after these rumors surfaced, Ubisoft itself released a statement where it reaffirmed that Beyond Good and Evil 2 remains one of the focal points of its “Open World Adventures” strategy. “Beyond Good and Evil will be part of Creative House 4, dedicated to immersive fantasy worlds and narrative-driven universes. Beyond Good and Evil 2 remains a priority for us in the context of our strategy centered around Open World Adventures,” said the company.
Ubisoft announced its major changes last week, confirming that it had cancelled five projects, including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake as part of larger overhauls with its operations. This was described by the company as a “major organizational, operational, and portfolio reset to reclaim creative leadership and restore sustainable growth.”
Part of this is the company’s new approach to development, which revolves around five “Creative Houses”, each of which will be in charge of certain franchises, genres, and even market segments. Creative House 2, for instance, will work on competitive and co-operative shooters, with franchises like Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell and The Division. Creative House 5, on the other hand, will work on casual and family-friendly games like Just Dance, Ketchapp and Uno.
Ubisoft has also confirmed that it has started working on four new IPs, one of which is the recently-acquired March of Giants—a MOBA that will have a focus on “tactical depth” and “meaningful team play”.
While you wait for Beyond Good and Evil 2 to come out someday, you can spend time with the seminal first game, which is currently available in the form of its 20th Anniversary Edition release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. Check out our review for more details.
