In the world of vaporware gaming projects, Beyond Good and Evil 2 has become the stuff of legends. First announced in 2008 when most of today’s gamers were still in elementary school, this sequel has survived studio shakeups, leadership changes, and enough development reboots to make Duke Nukem Forever blush. Now, fresh job listings from Ubisoft Montpellier suggest the game isn’t just alive – it’s actively hiring, which means someone at Ubisoft still believes this space opera will eventually see the light of day.
The Job Listings That Broke the Silence
Ubisoft Montpellier quietly posted several job openings this week that confirm Beyond Good and Evil 2 remains in active development. The positions include a technical sound designer, lead quest designer, technical lead network programmer, senior character artist, and VFX artist. What makes these listings significant isn’t just their existence, but what they reveal about the game’s current state and direction.
The technical sound designer role is particularly telling. According to industry standards, audio designers typically join projects during the production phase rather than pre-production or conceptual stages. This suggests the team has moved past the technology demonstration phase and is now building actual playable content. The position requires someone to integrate audio systems using middleware and the game’s proprietary Voyager engine, providing technical solutions that align with the Audio Director’s vision.
What We Know About the Game (Finally)
Buried in the job listings is an updated description that offers the clearest picture yet of what Beyond Good and Evil 2 actually is. According to Ubisoft’s posting, the game is described as an action-adventure open world game set in a space opera universe and serves as a direct prequel to the 2003 cult classic. The game aims to deliver a seamless experience of exploration and space piracy across a solar system filled with exotic locations, colorful characters, and mysteries to uncover, playable solo or with friends.
The multiplayer component appears to be non-negotiable. The technical lead network programmer position confirms the game remains focused on its always-online multiplayer vision, where players can drop in and out of co-op sessions. This has been a consistent element since the game’s E3 2017 reveal, suggesting that despite any potential soft reboots behind the scenes, Ubisoft hasn’t abandoned its shared universe ambitions.
The Voyager Engine Challenge
One of the biggest reasons for Beyond Good and Evil 2’s extended development is the proprietary Voyager engine built specifically for this project. This isn’t just a graphics engine – it’s a solar system simulation tool that combines designed elements with procedural generation to create entire planets. The engine allows players to explore multiple worlds via seamless space travel without loading screens, a technically ambitious feat that requires massive engineering resources.
The development team only completed preliminary work on the Voyager engine right before E3 2017, which original creative director Michel Ancel described as “day zero” of actual game development. That means despite the 2008 announcement, serious production didn’t begin until 2017 at the earliest. When you consider that most AAA games take 4-6 years to develop, suddenly the timeline doesn’t seem quite as ridiculous – though it’s still extraordinarily long by any standard.
Leadership Changes and Tragedy
The project has weathered significant leadership turbulence that would have killed most games. Michel Ancel, the original creator and visionary behind the series, left Ubisoft in 2020 amid allegations of toxic management practices. The team continued under creative director Emile Morel, who tragically died suddenly in 2023 at just 40 years old. Many assumed this would be the final nail in the coffin for the already troubled project.
Instead, Ubisoft appointed Fawzi Mesmar as the new creative director in October 2024. Mesmar brings serious credentials to the role, having worked on over 20 titles including the recent Star Wars Outlaws. According to industry insider Tom Henderson, what Mesmar and the team have accomplished looks “pretty cool” and noted that “it’s all about execution.” This suggests the game has a concrete vision under new leadership, though whether that vision can be realized remains the billion-dollar question.
Is This Duke Nukem Forever All Over Again?
The gaming community’s reaction to these job listings ranges from cautious optimism to outright cynicism. After 17 years, Beyond Good and Evil 2 has joined the pantheon of legendary vaporware alongside Half-Life 3, with many fans joking they’ll be middle-aged before seeing actual gameplay. Some industry watchers believe the project was quietly cancelled years ago and Ubisoft simply maintains a skeleton crew to avoid officially admitting defeat.
However, the specificity of these job listings and the continued investment in hiring suggest something more substantive is happening. Ubisoft has publicly reaffirmed the project’s existence multiple times, most recently releasing a remaster of the original Beyond Good and Evil in 2024 as a way to keep the IP relevant. The company wouldn’t be posting roles for lead quest designers and network programmers if the game were truly in limbo.
When Will We Actually See It?
The Game Awards in December would typically be the prime venue for a major reveal, but after 17 years of silence, no one is holding their breath. Ubisoft hasn’t shown any gameplay footage since the initial E3 2017 cinematic trailer and tech demos. The fact that they’re hiring for production-level roles now suggests we’re still years away from release, assuming the project doesn’t encounter additional setbacks.
What makes the situation more complicated is Ubisoft’s current financial struggles. The company has delayed multiple major releases, seen its stock price tumble, and faces potential acquisition talks. In this environment, risky long-term projects like Beyond Good and Evil 2 become even harder to justify, especially when they’ve already consumed massive resources without producing a shippable product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Beyond Good and Evil 2 really still in development?
Yes, according to recent job listings from Ubisoft Montpellier posted in November 2025. The studio is actively hiring for multiple positions including technical sound designer, lead quest designer, and network programmer, all specifically for the Beyond Good and Evil 2 project.
When was Beyond Good and Evil 2 first announced?
The game was first announced in 2008, making it 17 years old as a project. However, serious production using the custom Voyager engine didn’t begin until around 2017, after the E3 reveal that year.
Why has Beyond Good and Evil 2 taken so long to develop?
Multiple factors have contributed to the extended timeline, including building a proprietary Voyager engine from scratch, leadership changes after Michel Ancel left in 2020, the tragic death of creative director Emile Morel in 2023, and the technical ambition of creating a seamless multiplayer solar system exploration game.
Who is the current creative director of Beyond Good and Evil 2?
Fawzi Mesmar was appointed as creative director in October 2024. He’s a veteran designer who worked on over 20 titles including Star Wars Outlaws, and took over after Emile Morel’s death in 2023.
Will Beyond Good and Evil 2 have multiplayer?
Yes, the game is designed as an always-online experience with both single-player and cooperative multiplayer support. Players can drop in and out of co-op sessions, and the game features a shared universe where certain events affect all players simultaneously.
What is the Voyager engine?
Voyager is a proprietary game engine built specifically for Beyond Good and Evil 2. It’s a solar system simulation tool that uses designed elements and procedural generation to create explorable planets with seamless space travel and no loading screens between locations.
When will Beyond Good and Evil 2 be released?
There is no official release date or even release window. The fact that Ubisoft is hiring for production-level positions in late 2025 suggests the game is still years away from launch, assuming development continues without major issues.
Is Beyond Good and Evil 2 a sequel or prequel?
Despite the “2” in the title, Beyond Good and Evil 2 is actually a prequel to the 2003 original game, set in the same universe but taking place before the events of the first game.
Conclusion
Beyond Good and Evil 2 has become gaming’s most infamous development saga, a project that refuses to die despite every logical reason it should have been cancelled years ago. These new job listings prove that somewhere in Ubisoft’s offices, a team continues working on this impossibly ambitious space pirate fantasy. Whether that dedication represents admirable persistence or corporate stubbornness depends on your perspective. For fans who fell in love with the original game back in 2003, there’s still a glimmer of hope that they’ll eventually explore System 3. For everyone else, Beyond Good and Evil 2 serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of announcing games far too early and the technical risks of building proprietary engines for single projects. Will we ever play this game? At this point, asking when feels less important than asking if – and even that question doesn’t have a clear answer.