Beyond Good and Evil 2 might not have yet left development hell, newly emerged evidence suggests. This update on the repeatedly delayed project arrives just a few months after Ubisoft confirmed that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is still in development.
First teased 15 years ago, the sequel to Beyond Good and Evil was originally treated to a reveal trailer at E3 2017. Ubisoft has made precious little progress on the project ever since, as underlined by the fact that Beyond Good and Evil 2 recently overtook Duke Nukem as history's most-delayed AAA game.
An April 18 job listing from Ubisoft Barcelona has now offered some new insights into the troubled project, although its implications appear to be bad news for fans. The posting advertises an opening for a senior concept artist who would work on Beyond Good and Evil 2, with the very name of that role suggesting the game is nowhere near completion. Not least because concept artists are mainly involved in the pre-production stage of game development, as the main purpose of their work is to provide references for modelers, environment artists, and animators.
Prior to its latest confirmation that the game is still in the works, Ubisoft labeled Beyond Good and Evil 2 as an "active development" endeavor in July 2022. That term originates from the movie industry and is often used to classify projects that have left pre-production, although this newly surfaced listing implies that's either not the case here, or that beyond Good and Evil 2 returned to the drawing board at some point since last summer. Alternatively, it's plausible that Ubisoft simply used a more liberal definition of "active development" on that occasion.
The newly unearthed job listing might also provide a clue as to why Beyond Good and Evil 2 is still stuck at a stage that requires concept art. Namely, the posting states that Ubisoft Barcelona is currently also working on multiple "unannounced AAA projects," in addition to supporting Rainbow Six Siege and being involved in a Beyond Good and Evil sequel. That's quite a lot on the plate of a company that has under 200 employees, according to its official LinkedIn page.
On the other hand, most major Ubisoft games have long involved the company's studios from all over the world, and Beyond Good and Evil 2 is no exception to that convergent development strategy. According to previous shareholder disclosures, the work on the much-delayed adventure is actually being led by Ubisoft Montpellier, indicating that its Spanish sister company is at most assisting with the project. Yet the fact that the main Beyond Good and Evil 2 developer is currently under a labor investigation doesn't exactly inspire hope that the game will see the light of day anytime soon, irrespective of Ubisoft's recent job market activity.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 is in development.