Ubisoft's long-awaited Beyond Good & Evil 2 remains in development and now has a new creative director leading the project.
Despite an on-again, off-again marathon development cycle stretching back nearly 20 years, Ubisoft appears to be demonstrating its commitment to finally finishing Beyond Good & Evil 2 by naming company veteran Fawzi Mesmar as the game's new creative lead.
Mesmar has worked at Ubisoft for two decades; Hey, that's almost as long as Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been in development! – and previously served as the company's general head of creative development. It's a senior, experienced pair of hands for a project that has gone through numerous iterations and several senior staff changes over the years, including the departure of franchise creator Michel Ancel in 2020 after allegations of toxic behavior and the sad death in 2023 of Emile Morel, the game's previous creative director.
“With over 20 years as an award-winning game designer and creative director, Mesmar has been instrumental in the successful launch of over 20 video games,” a Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer today.
“Mesmar previously collaborated with the Beyond Good & Evil 2 team as Vice President of Editorial. In his new role, he is focused on continuing to develop the vision laid out by our late friend and colleague, Emile Morel.”
It's been over a year since Ubisoft last told Eurogamer that Beyond Good & Evil 2 was still in development despite several changes at the publisher, and nothing has been heard from since.
Still, the franchise has been kept alive thanks to a polished 20th anniversary re-release of the original Beyond Good & Evil, which includes a wealth of behind-the-scenes content in addition to all-new story content that directly sets up Beyond Good & Evil 2. (which, narratively, acts as a prequel).
Discussion about Beyond Good & Evil 2 has resurfaced this week following a report from Insider Gaming that some staff who previously worked on Prince of Persia: The Last Crown had joined the project.
Yesterday, Ubisoft also confirmed that it had turned to Michel Ancel to consult on its plans for the future of the Rayman franchise.