Ancel leaves Ubisoft, Beyond Good & Evil 2 doubtful

Delusibeta

Reachin' out...
Mar 7, 2010
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Michael Ancel has left Ubisoft to form his own studio, leaving Beyond Good & Evil 2 in limbo.
"Beyond Good and Evil 2" didn't come out in 2009, and now any release date at all, be it in 2011 or 2012, may be in jeopardy. The news comes with a report out of France that creator Michael Ancel has left Ubisoft, possibly leading to the sequel's outright cancellation.

The game was announced back in 2008, but as recently as this past January even Ubisoft cautioned that "whether or not it comes out remains to be seen anyway." Obviously, this latest development will come as a bit of a shocker to those who have been patiently awaiting a follow-up to the franchise's first release from 2003.

Whether or not Ubisoft would carry on with the game without Ancel remains to be seen, as they have not officially declared an end to the title's development. Without a statement from the company, there's always a chance that it may live on or be passed to new hands, but things are not looking hopeful at this point. With any luck, someone out there will have the fortitude to pull this project through to the end.
Source [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/05/28/beyond-good-and-evil-2-shut-down-at-ubisoft/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+MultiplayerBlog+%28Multiplayer+Blog%29].
 

Meggiepants

Not a pigeon roost
Jan 19, 2010
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Boo!

That's too bad. I was hoping this title would get finished. Beyond Good & Evil was one of the few games I actually bothered to get 100% completion on. This news makes me a little sad.
 

Brian Name

New member
Feb 1, 2008
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Booooooooo. Makes me wanna cry.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_139/2992-Fighting-with-Monsters
 

AMMO Kid

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Jan 2, 2009
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That's very disappointing! I loved the first one and it sucks that the second one would get canceled, so hopefully they can find someone else to do it.
 

pigeon_of_doom

Vice-Captain Hammer
Feb 9, 2008
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Delusibeta said:
Michael Ancel has left Ubisoft to form his own studio, leaving Beyond Good & Evil 2 in limbo.
I really don't understand how this game's development has been so drawn out, and is still in such a precarious state. I mean, in 2008 it was stated that the game had been in development for a year and a half at that point. Surely by now there should be enough of a product to make completing the game the sensible option? Apparently Ancel has been involved in other projects, but all I've heard of him doing has been contributing designs (mostly character designs) to Rayman Rabbids and the King Kong games, the most recent of which came out in 2007, so it shouldn't have held up this game's production.

I'd be gutted if this does end up being the end for the games. Not just because the closing revelations of the first game that really need expanding on, but because it was such an incredibly unique experience. And, in typical gamer form, whenever I experience something unique, I want more of it!

I just want another Michel Ancel game really. Rayman 2 and BGAE are two of my favourite games, and it's been far too long since I've played something that he's been very heavily involved in. Gutted that he's left Ubisoft and may have to leave his IPs with them, but as long as he stays in the games industry (and actually releases something) then I'm happy enough.
 

TsunamiWombat

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Sep 6, 2008
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1. I don't think this game was ever 'announced'. There was some leaked footage and everyone was like ZOMG BGE2

2. BGE was a critical darling and a sales failure. A BGE2 was ALWAYS doubtful.

3. Meh.
 

pigeon_of_doom

Vice-Captain Hammer
Feb 9, 2008
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Yes! It's been denied by a Ubisoft Rep!

http://www.gameblog.fr/news_15707_michel-ancel-quitterait-ubisoft-c-est-faux
Yes, it's in French, but it is linked to BGAE2's wiki page as a citation for Ancel's departure being refuted, and the headline 'Michel Ancel quitterait Ubisoft ? C'est faux !' is clear enough even to non-French speakers. So I'm glad to say, in the words of that news post: cette information est totalement fausse.

Although didn't Activision initially deny internal problems with Infinity Ward? Admittedly, in this case, sources within the studio apparently concur with the information revealed by that French article, so there's no cause to be pessimistic!
 

More Fun To Compute

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Nov 18, 2008
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The rumour is that he has left one Ubisoft studio to start another working on a new Rayman game. I don't think that anyone has ever confirmed that BG&E2 was in anything other than pre-production and this would seem to confirm that it was not approved for full production like anyone with a realistic bone in their body would have assumed.
 

Abedeus

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Sep 14, 2008
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TsunamiWombat said:
1. I don't think this game was ever 'announced'. There was some leaked footage and everyone was like ZOMG BGE2

2. BGE was a critical darling and a sales failure. A BGE2 was ALWAYS doubtful.

3. Meh.
My thoughts precisely.

1. There was a trailer at one point, but it was like 30 seconds short and showed only P'Jey.

2. Oh yeah, I knew it was very unlikely for the game to be have a sequel, two months after the release. They said it then that the sequel is highly doubtful.

3. This, too. I've come to terms with the odds of BG&E2 being slim to none.
 

Frenger

New member
May 31, 2009
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Far from suprising.
Used to think we had some sort of hope seeing that game.
Come to think of it.
Knew this would happen. BG&E2 looked too good to be true.

!