Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still coming, Ubisoft say - but who knows when

During Ubisoft's quarterly financial report, Ubisoft confirmed that scifi action-adventure Beyond Good & Evil 2 was still in development. When asked if it would be out in 2023, however, chief financial officer Frederick Duguet said only that, "We are progressing well with Beyond Good and Evil 2, but it's too early to tell you more at this stage."

BG&E2 is mentioned just once in the quarterly report, in a summary at the top which notes their plan for a "Revival of fan-favorite franchise with Beyond Good And Evil 2." The quote from Duguet came during an investor call, when asked whether the game would be out during Ubisoft's fiscal year 2024.

Keep in mind that this doesn't mean that BG&E2 won't come that fiscal year, or that it won't come earlier, even. It just means Ubisoft are keeping shtum.

The last time we saw Beyond Good & Evil 2 properly was in 2018, when we saw, in fairness, quite a lot. There was ground combat and space travel, a planet-hopping open world, co-op, crew recruitment and a lot more.

Since then, it's been quiet. The game hasn't appeared at any of Ubisoft's more recent events, except via old footage playing on a loop during the pre-show countdown, like a tantalising and cruel screensaver. There have also been changes to its development team since, as BG&E creator Michel Ancel retired from the industry in 2020.

Games take as long as they take, but at this point it's been thirteen years since Beyond Good & Evil 2 was announced. Just look at Alec's bright-eyed "Woowoowoo!" excitement in that post. "Turns out the world's not such a terrible place after all," he writes. Oh 2008 Alec, you poor boy.