Beyond Good and Evil 2: new video shows vehicle gameplay, co-op and more

Numbers first: Beyond Good and Evil 2 was announced in May 2008, re-presented at E3 2017 and, on December 10, 2018, got a new gameplay update. It was shown in the fourth edition of the Space Monkey Report, the broadcast in which Ubisoft showed the game’s development to the community.

The video detailed the systems in production. Translating the jargon: augments are character upgrades; vehicles include ships, with combat between them; co-op is integrated into the world, to play together without leaving the adventure; and the spyglass comes in as an exploration tool. The broadcast also showed how to start recruiting characters for the crew and included a 26-minute walkthrough of the pre-alpha demo that had been shown behind closed doors at E3 2018.

To set the scene: the game is a prequel to the 2003 Beyond Good & Evil, set at least a generation before the original, according to director Michel Ancel. At E3 2017, the Ubisoft Montpellier team said it was at “day zero” of production. The Space Monkey Program, which gives the broadcast its name, was the way found to develop the game with fans following closely, even contributing ideas.

What came next

A lot changed, except one thing: the game did not come out. Michel Ancel left Ubisoft in 2020. In 2022, the project passed Duke Nukem Forever as the AAA game with the longest development time, over 15 years. In 2023, creative director Emile Morel died at age 40, and in October 2024 designer Fawzi Mesmar took over creative direction. In January 2026, the game was left out of the cancellations in Ubisoft’s restructuring. Release date? Also in development.

Source: Ubisoft.