Michel Ancel

We reported last week that cult favourite Beyond Good & Evil had a sequel in preproduction, according to the franchise director Michel Ancel. However, it hadn’t been given the greenlight by Ubisoft. Today, Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been officially announced by the publisher at their Ubidays event in Paris.

Here’s a teasing glimpse of the game in this hilarious and downright mysterious new trailer:

One of the greatest games out there has been given a second chance, and Ubisoft are taking a giant leap of faith for the few, yet incredibly devout fans of the franchise. The question now isn’t whether the game will be good, it’s whether gamers have grown enough in five years to give this game the sales it deserves. Only time will tell.

Jade, intrepid adventurer and photojournalist extraordinaire, might just be making a return in Beyond Good & Evil 2. For the five people who played the original, this is probably the best news of the year.

Beyond Good & Evil has been named “The Best Game No One Played” countless times, and for good reason. It’s one of the greatest games of the last generation of consoles and was probably outsold by Barbie’s Horse Adventure.

However, reviewers and the few who took a chance on its mix of action, platforming, photography and fantastic storytelling experienced something truly extraordinary. Unfortunately, those abysmal sales squashed the dreams of the few who reached the cliffhanger ending, never to see the fantastic tale play out any further.

But, those dashed dreams may see the light of day. A shimmer of hope has come by way of the game’s director, Michel Ancel. In an interview with jeuxvideo he confirmed that a team of 10 to 12 are in preproduction on the title

Translated from JeuxVideo:

“I am currently working on Beyond Good & Evil 2. We’ve actually been in preproduction for a year, and have been carrying out small committee research for the title. But for the moment, we are only in the outlining stage – Ubisoft has not given its official agreement yet.

We want to be in the vein of the first game: with a large variety of gameplay types and an emotional quality to both the characters and gameplay. This time we are examining the future of the planet and its many animal inhabitants.”

So there you have it, although it isn’t set in stone. At least we know that the franchise isn’t dead.