Beyond Good & Evil returns

Ubisoft teases long-rumored sequel to Michel Ancel's action adventure game at Ubidays press event.

Earlier this month, Rayman creator Michel Ancel told French magazine JeuxVideo that he'd been in preproduction on a sequel to Beyond Good & Evil for a year, but the project had yet to receive a green light from Ubisoft. That go-ahead has apparently been given. The publisher capped off its Ubidays press event with a teaser trailer for Ancel's next project, and the clip featured the porcine sidekick of the original game, Pey'j.

It's the new-look Pey'j with the same old scar.

In the teaser, a camera swoops down across a desert wasteland until it focuses in on a broken-down hovercar. A woman sits atop the car (presumably Jade, the first game's protagonist), her face obscured by an umbrella. On the other side of the machine, Pey'j rests until he is disturbed by a fly. The man-pig then engages in a tug-of-war of sorts, attempting to inhale the fly through his ample nostrils. Meeting success after a brief struggle, Pey'j mumbles, "Fifty." A few seconds and some more snorting later, he grunts, "Fifty-one."

The teaser gave no details as to platforms or release date. However, as part of the company's earnings report last week, Ubisoft did say that it had a pair of unannounced sequels in existing franchises set for release by the end of March.

Released in November of 2003, Beyond Good & Evil won critical acclaim for its mix of traditional action adventure elements with stealth segments, a picture-taking gameplay mechanic, and an engaging story of a young woman pulled into a rebel faction to blow the lid off of an interstellar government conspiracy.

That's presumably Jade in the background.

Despite the accolades, the game was lost in a slate of holiday releases already rich in the action and adventure genres, including Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, Jak II, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, I-Ninja, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Ubisoft's own Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. According to the industry-tracking NPD Group, Beyond Good & Evil sold a respectable 271,000 copies at US retailers, although most of those sales came in the wake of drastic price cuts.

360 Comments

  • kerc_chaos

    Posted Jan 23, 2009 10:48 pm PT

    As gamesradar said, ubisoft should totally market this with the play on lead character Jade and Rayman created by Michel Ancel bit... Jade Raymond anyone =) ... Sigh.

    EDIT: Maybe model in game Jade's face to real world Jade's face. CREEPY much? Wateva.

  • Mr_Manga

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 2:26 pm PT

    OMG Finally. Ive seriously been dreaming about this xD. The first one is one of my fav games ever. Hope it doesnt take too long before this will be real.

  • NoseWeed619

    Posted Jan 8, 2009 3:32 pm PT

    YAY!

  • jochemkips

    Posted Jan 8, 2009 12:52 pm PT

    Looks like I'm not the only one being drawn to this game after a December Hotspot...
    I had completely missed its announcement. Good to hear it got a green light. The first game was great.

  • ghaste

    Posted Jan 7, 2009 5:59 am PT

    I loved the first one... it had a certain style to it... but will have to wait and see with how they style the looks of this game... but will probably still buy it for the story, which was pretty good

  • kvan33

    Posted Jan 6, 2009 7:10 am PT

    Cool. But has it been too long? I'd have to go back and play the first one to remember where the story left off.

  • rubenhb

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 10:10 am PT

    yeah this IS good news

  • IceMinx

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 9:29 am PT

    SQUEE! I'm so excited! I loved the first game and I hope the sequel stays true to it's roots. I want to see video of the actual gameplay! *impatient*
    I wish it was going to be on the PS2 - even though we have a 360...

  • martianrobot

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 6:27 pm PT

    Beyond Good & Evil 2?

    Nothing else matters... a sequel to the one of the best console games ever made could only be bested by David Braben finally getting off his a**e and making Elite IV. Though Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone comes close

  • X_Sweet_Hunni_X

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 2:20 pm PT

    Just as andhyt93 said, the first game of BG&E ws sooooo simple i bet even my little brother could complete it. Hope the next BG&E is good :0)

  • andhyt93

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 9:11 am PT

    The first game had an excellent story, but the combat mechanics was too simpel and combat was way too easy, at least for me =)
    I hope they do something about that in this sequel. Anyway, this is great news! =)

  • Old_Gooseberry

    Posted Jul 14, 2008 12:33 am PT

    still haven't played the first one... someday!

  • Sparticus1013

    Posted Jul 13, 2008 6:18 pm PT

    Awesome...Just awesome. The first is among my favorite games ever. I hope the sequel keeps the feel of the first. And they need to bring back Double H.

    Now, if I could just get Microsoft to make the first one compatible for the 360 so I don't have to plug in the overgrown brick that is my original Xbox, I'd be set.

  • fistcuffs

    Posted Jul 9, 2008 5:48 pm PT

    ... *Runs around screaming with joy*

    The greatest game ever finally gets the sequal it so rightfully deserves.

  • TwoLines

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 5:23 am PT

    I can't wait- the first one was great. I was very pissed off at Ubisoft for not making a sequel till now.

  • eyerok

    Posted Jul 4, 2008 7:41 am PT

    YAHOOOO!

  • dual_barrel

    Posted Jul 3, 2008 7:30 pm PT

    ok!

  • Settler87

    Posted Jun 22, 2008 4:24 pm PT

    Someone at Ubisoft heard my prayers! It's going to take a long time to wipe this smile from my face really I would pay $100 for this game. I played the PC version of the first one and i still remember every moment in the game. My new XBOX 360 will be glad to add this Amazing game to its collection. Hope will be released this Year ... Michel Ancel please HELP US!!! wahooooooooo

  • algernas

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 3:17 am PT

    Finally my dream became Truth but still I can`t belive until I play it.
    Beyond Good & Evil it is from the best game I have seen in my life and I hope we can play it in this year.
    thank you UBISOFT for this game.

  • Homedawggydog

    Posted Jun 14, 2008 2:55 pm PT

    ABOUT TIME UBISOFT IT ONLY TOOK 5 YEARS WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOREVER

  • tony2077ca

    Posted Jun 12, 2008 6:32 am PT

    i'll preorder the moment i hear a release date

  • Ra-Devil

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 8:30 pm PT

    BG&E was one of the best games I've ever played. I enjoyed it more than the first Halo, I enjoyed it more than Ninja Gaiden, I enjoyed it more than almost any game I've ever played. It was a masterpiece, pure and simple, and the fact that it sold poorly saddened me.... untill I heard it had a sequal comming out!! This is going to be one of those games I camp out for! I mean, I've NEVER camped out for a game! I hope BG&E 2 is as good as the first, becaue I really, really want another story driven adventure title that makes me feel like the world really is a good place.

  • jimmyboy131

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 6:58 pm PT

    Mysterylobster, did you actually play BG&E? O.o I did, but only after hearing that it was under-rated and didn't sell well. Before that I didn't pay one bit of attention to it and knew nothing about it. Anyway, I ended up getting the Xbox version, and I loved every minute of it! Since then I've been eagerly awaiting the announcement of a sequel.

    Can't wait to play BG&E 2! Hearing this announcement seriously made my day. I don't have either a 360 or a PS3, but I'm going to have to get a 360, if for no other reason than to play this game. (Well, others too, but this is reason enough.)

  • 2w-sephiroth

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 8:04 am PT

    Yay, the first game was absolutely awsome, I cant wait to see how this gave developes. Hopefully to be highly known game unlike its predecesor.

  • Mist17

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 7:10 am PT

    I Can't Wait to Play this, I hope it goes to PC as well!!!

  • dylan545

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 5:45 am PT

    If it's as good as thefirst one, i'll buy it!

  • guile_charlie

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 7:26 pm PT

    Never played the first, want to, though.

  • naelgilani

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 9:09 am PT

    Finally they are making a sequal. Its about time. Guess Im gonna have to buy a PS3 or XBOX360 to play it.

  • 6h05tly

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 9:00 am PT

    I just bought BG&E for my Gamecube just a week ago. I can't wait for this one to come

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:55 am PT

    BG&E was one of the most underated games ever. I cant wait for this!!

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Jun 1, 2008 9:15 pm PT

    I think i've commented on here twice. BGE 2 FTW

  • Jshaw71

    Posted Jun 1, 2008 5:33 pm PT

    interesting preveiw if not a lil' boring preveiw, looks like this game will take place in a desert region? i guess we'll have to wait and see...

  • Trickst3r

    Posted Jun 1, 2008 4:47 pm PT

    To Mysterylobster...dude, get better taste in games. Rag on State of Emergency, or something that really blew, rather then a game that wasn't very hyped at all, and turned out to be one of the greatest stand-alone franchises to come our way in years.

  • simian92

    Posted Jun 1, 2008 12:08 pm PT

    the first game was amazing, and with the ending. there must be a sequel, i just wonder what took them so long to begin making it

  • BlueFlameBat

    Posted May 31, 2008 5:09 pm PT

    It's almost a given that the game is PC-, PS3- and XBox360-bound, but I hope they make it for Wii too, even if they have to dumb the graphics down a little.

  • mysterylobster posted May 31, 2008 1:59 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    mysterylobster

    Posted May 31, 2008 1:59 pm PT (hide)

    It never ceases to amaze me how some games can flop and get sequels, while some big hits never get a follow up. Beyond Good & Evil is a perfect example of a game that gets hyped by the press, then gets rapturous reviews so that they don't look foolish for hyping the game. Gamers, though, are smart enough to know a turkey when they see one and don't buy the game. This is usually followed by the gaming media telling gamers they're stupid for skipping over a game they gave such high marks to. Actually, I call this the "Beyond Good & Evil" effect.

  • CHRION987

    Posted May 31, 2008 4:25 am PT

    "no wii version...wtf...lol but anyways, looks pretty cool"
    god the wii has grown so lame so fast im guessing anywhere between 60-70% of there games are massive wastes of $$
    WHY THE HE** dont games in stores have there review scores posted clearly on the boxart?
    if you make a crap a** game, you deserve crap a** sales...
    as for beyond good and evil, believe it or not i was one of the 3 who bought the original, cant wait to see gameplay vids
    hope they make money on this one

  • FriskyMeerkat

    Posted May 31, 2008 3:42 am PT

    This game deserves a sequel!!

  • Mr-Silter

    Posted May 31, 2008 3:00 am PT

    no wii version...wtf...lol but anyways, looks pretty cool

  • Taegre

    Posted May 30, 2008 9:38 pm PT

    And Shenmue 3 shall follow.

  • frazzle00

    Posted May 30, 2008 8:45 pm PT

    I can't wait . The best non-Zelda adventure game finally gets the sequel it deserves .

  • scottabc

    Posted May 30, 2008 4:43 pm PT

    The first was really outstanding, and I dont even really like platformers. I'm glad to see Ubi is ready to make #2 even though the sales werent that good for #1

  • grizza

    Posted May 30, 2008 12:32 pm PT

    This is great news. I was starting to give up hope that we would ever see BGaE 2 and here it is. Thanks Ubisoft.

  • ivan_the_one

    Posted May 30, 2008 11:01 am PT

    I loved the game. but the ending was kinda strange.....

  • necronaux

    Posted May 30, 2008 9:44 am PT

    The first one was excellent. Hope this one picks up where the last one left off (remember the final cut scene?).

  • johannleo

    Posted May 30, 2008 6:15 am PT

    Wouhou

  • MetalZombieII

    Posted May 30, 2008 3:35 am PT

    The first game was awesome in my opinion, in fact I thought it was better than most of the games mentioned as it's competition when it released. I just played through the first one again recently and it's still and amazing game, to bad it didn't do better sales wise. Here's to hoping the sequel is even better than the first.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted May 30, 2008 1:14 am PT

    Loved the first one, so original with lots of different types of gameplay elements. Cant wait for this. Bring it on!

  • lestat23l

    Posted May 30, 2008 1:01 am PT

    This is a hell ya moment for sure!!!!! This is the best news ive heartd ina long time, i loved the first game.

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