There’s a game out there that’s been in development so long, it’s practically become a meme. Beyond Good & Evil 2 – the prequel to a cult classic from 2003 that most people barely remember – has been “in development” for so long that we’ve cycled through multiple console generations, seen entire game studios rise and fall, and watched developers go from young twentysomethings to, well, people with mortgages and kids in middle school.

And yet. It’s still happening. Apparently.

Ubisoft recently confirmed (again) that yes, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still under development. Which is kind of like your friend insisting they’re definitely going to finish that novel they started in 2008. Sure, Jan. The confirmation came quietly, without fanfare, almost sheepishly – and honestly, can you blame them? At this point, the game’s development cycle has become more famous than the actual original game it’s supposed to follow up.

The Game That Time Forgot (But Won’t Let Go)

Here’s the thing about Beyond Good & Evil – the first one, I mean. It was actually pretty great. Released back when the original Xbox was still a thing and “HD gaming” meant 480p, the game featured a photojournalist named Jade who uncovered government conspiracies on an alien planet. Think Zelda meets stealth action meets actual journalism mechanics, which sounds weird but somehow worked.

It sold terribly. Like, really badly. But it developed this passionate cult following over the years, the kind of fans who would corner you at parties to explain why you absolutely needed to play this overlooked gem. (We all had that friend.)

When Did This Journey Actually Begin?

Michel Ancel, the creative director behind the original game (and Rayman, if you’re keeping track), first teased a sequel way back in 2008. That’s right – 2008. Barack Obama’s first term. The iPhone 3G was cutting-edge technology. People still used Facebook without feeling vaguely guilty about it.

The project went dark for years, then suddenly roared back to life in 2017 with a cinematic trailer that looked absolutely stunning. There were space pirates, sprawling cities, monkey people (yes, really), and promises of this massive online universe where you could basically live out your sci-fi dreams. The scope was ambitious. Maybe too ambitious, if we’re being honest.

Development Hell Has Many Circles

What’s happened since that 2017 reveal? Well, that’s where things get messy. And by messy, I mean the kind of development nightmare that makes you wonder if anyone’s actually steering this ship or if it’s just drifting in space like some cosmic derelict.

The Michel Ancel Situation

In 2020, Ancel left Ubisoft entirely. Just peaced out to work on a wildlife sanctuary or something, which – look, good for him, honestly. But when the creative visionary behind your passion project exits stage left after 12 years of development, that’s typically not what you’d call a positive sign. It’s like losing the lead singer of a band halfway through recording an album. Sure, you can finish it, but will it still sound like what people signed up for?

Reports surfaced around the same time about toxic management and impossible working conditions at the Montpellier studio. According to former developers, the scope kept expanding, ideas kept changing, and there was this constant cycle of building things up only to tear them down and start over. Sounds exhausting, right?

The Silence That Speaks Volumes

After Ancel’s departure, Ubisoft went radio silent. No updates. No screenshots. No “hey everyone, we’re still working hard on this!” tweets. Just… nothing. For years. Which led most people to assume the project was either dead or in some kind of development purgatory where a skeleton crew keeps the lights on but nothing’s actually shipping.

Then occasionally – and I mean maybe once a year if we’re lucky – someone from Ubisoft would confirm that yes, technically, people are still working on it. These confirmations always feel weirdly defensive, like they’re responding to a question nobody actually asked anymore because we’d all moved on.

Why Won’t They Just Pull the Plug?

This is the question that keeps me up at night. Or, well, not really, but you know what I mean. Why does Ubisoft keep this thing on life support? The sunk cost fallacy has to be astronomical at this point. They’ve poured probably hundreds of millions into this project over sixteen years. Sixteen! That’s old enough to drive in most states!

The Optics Problem

Here’s my theory, and maybe I’m completely wrong, but canceling Beyond Good & Evil 2 now would be admitting defeat in the most public way possible. It would mean acknowledging that all those years, all that money, all those developer hours – basically wasted. For a company that’s already dealt with its share of controversies and PR nightmares, that’s a tough pill to swallow.

• Brand damage: Canceling such a high-profile project would generate negative headlines for weeks
• Fan backlash: The cult following might be small, but they’re vocal as hell
• Internal morale: What does it say to your developers when you kill a passion project after this long?

So instead, it lingers. Neither alive nor dead, existing in some quantum state where it’s perpetually “in development” without ever actually developing into something you can play.

The Duke Nukem Forever Lesson

We’ve seen this movie before. Duke Nukem Forever spent 15 years in development hell before finally releasing in 2011 to reviews that can generously be described as “oof.” The game was a relic, outdated before it launched, and proof that sometimes you actually should give up on your white whale.

But here’s the kicker – at least Duke Nukem Forever actually came out. It existed. You could buy it, play it, and form your own opinions (however negative they might be). Beyond Good & Evil 2 hasn’t even reached that dubious milestone. It’s still theoretical. Still a promise. Still “in development.”

What Does “In Development” Even Mean Anymore?

When Ubisoft says the game is still in development, what does that actually entail? Are we talking a full team cranking away at builds and assets? Or is it more like three people in a basement somewhere, occasionally updating documentation while the rest of the gaming industry moves on without them?

The lack of any substantive updates suggests it’s probably closer to the latter. No gameplay footage in years. No release window, even a vague one. No excited developers doing press tours talking about cool features. Just periodic confirmations that technically, yes, work continues. Somewhere. Somehow.

“At some point, you have to wonder if finishing this game is even possible anymore, or if it’s become this mythical thing that exists more as an idea than an actual product.”

Technology has moved on dramatically since 2017, let alone 2008. The gaming landscape has shifted. Battle royales came and conquered. Live service games became the norm. Player expectations evolved. Whatever Beyond Good & Evil 2 was supposed to be when they started, can it still be relevant in 2024 and beyond?

The Impossible Position

Part of me feels bad for whoever’s actually working on this thing right now. Imagine being a developer on this project. You’re basically in witness protection – can’t talk about what you’re doing, can’t show off your work, can’t build hype because corporate won’t let you. And you know, deep down, that even if you do ship something eventually, it’ll never live up to the expectations that have built up over nearly two decades.

That’s an impossible position. The game would have to be absolutely transcendent to justify this wait. Not just good – revolutionary. Industry-defining. The kind of game people talk about for generations. And honestly? That’s not happening. That pressure would crush any creative team.

So we’re left with this strange situation where Beyond Good & Evil 2 keeps not dying, but also not living. It exists in the margins, occasionally acknowledged but never celebrated, perpetually “in development” without ever developing into anything concrete. It’s become less of a game and more of a cautionary tale about scope creep, ambition without direction, and the dangers of never knowing when to call it.

Will we ever actually play Beyond Good & Evil 2? At this point, I genuinely don’t know. Maybe in 2030, Ubisoft will surprise us all with a release. Maybe they’ll quietly cancel it and hope nobody notices. Or maybe – and this feels most likely – it’ll just continue existing in this liminal space forever, neither dead nor alive, the game that refuses to die but also refuses to be born. In a weird way, that might be the most fitting end for a saga this absurd.