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Beyond Good & Evil 2 creator reveals what's taking the game so long

The scope of the dev team's ambitions outdistanced their tech at the time of the game's announcement.

David Craddock

October 19, 2016 2:15 PM

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Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel posted assets from a 2008 build of Beyond Good & Evil 2 on Instagram.

Ancel's post depicts protagonist Jade, the porcine Pey'j, and an unknown character.

Like his last Instagram update, Ancel posted behind-the-scenes tidbits to go along with his media. " The game was playable with many prototypes," he wrote. "All videos were real time, but we had too much technical issues. We wanted planet exploration, space travel, cities. All this was also supposed to be in [the first Beyond Good & Evil]."

Rather than settle for tech that didn't measure up to their vision, the team set BG&E2 aside and worked on 2D Rayman titles. Now they're back at work on the long-anticipated sequel to 2004's BG&E.

"We still have loooooots of work, but now the tech is ready and the team is fantastic," Ancel wrote.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.