Beyond Good And Evil 2 Is Still Alive As It Gets A New Lead Writer

Yes, you read the title right: the oft-delayed and frankly, almost-dead Beyond Good And Evil 2 is still alive - and just got its new head writer in another push for release.

(Photo : YouTube - Game Clips And Tips)
beyond good and evil 2 trailer

PlayStation Lifestyle reports that Sarah Arellano, a veteran of Activision Blizzard, is now the lead writer for the game after joining Ubisoft's Montpellier studio. Arellano herself made the announcement on Twitter, where she posted a video of her editing her professional bio on an undisclosed website:

It’s my turn to do the thing pic.twitter.com/gS87kZn7UT
— Sarah Arellano (@TheSugarVenom) August 3, 2022

But aside from the announcement, there's barely any big news about Beyond Good And Evil 2. Either way, Arellano's hiring comes six years after the game's initial announcement. It was at E3 2017 when Ubisoft revealed the prequel to their 2003 classic according to IGN, and a lot of fans got excited. The first game was a great one through and through.

Fans got a glimpse of the game's amazing-looking CG trailer, right here:

Since that announcement, though, news on the game was extremely scarce. Fans did get a look at several pieces of concept art, which showcased a handful of the game's ships and hybrid creatures. There was also a second trailer revealed at E3 2018, making fans believe that development on the game was in full swing - and an actual gameplay reveal was on the horizon.

Obviously, the gameplay reveal never came. This then prompted fans to think that Ubisoft is canceling Beyond Good And Evil 2 altogether. But Arellano's hiring is definitive proof that the game is still alive. And Arellano's credentials aren't exactly something to scoff at, as she served as Narrative Designer on World Of Warcraft.

She was also part of the studio Deep Silver Volition, the guys who are behind the Saints Row series. According to PC Gamer, her Twitter account says she's also part of the team behind the upcoming Saints Row reboot.

What The Heck Happened To Beyond Good And Evil 2?

While the game was announced in 2017, it is said that development on it actually started as far back as 2007 - four years after the first game's launch. That's around 15 years of development time in total, which could actually put it beyond the development time of Duke Nukem Forever (14 years).

So what in the world happened to this game? Well, an assortment of things did. One big scandal involved Hollywood actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt's hitRECord. The company reportedly aimed to crowdsource the game's artwork and music, but a compensation dispute with content creators soured relations. This was said to be one of the reasons why the game's planned 2019 playable beta never came out.

Either way, the most recent "news" (more or less rumor) about Beyond Good And Evil 2 was that it is still in pre-production as of April this year, reports Comic Book. For a game to spend around 15 years in pre-prod is an insane thing to even think about.