10 Promising Video Game Sequels Stuck In Development Hell
3. Beyond Good & Evil 2
Long in the making and long sought after, the follow-up to cult classic Beyond Good and Evil was sealed away in Ubisoft's vault for many years. With Michel Ancel at the helm, the 2003 release obtained high popularity, but a far weaker commercial performance. This caused the publisher to be somewhat unsure about pursuing a follow-up.
That is, until an initial teaser trailer popped up in May 2008. It showed protagonist Jade and her partner Pey'j languishing in an unnamed desert. Despite the title entering development, no further information was ever shown as it went underground. Conflicting reports from Ubisoft and Ancel persisted over the next eight years.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 would finally re-emerge at Ubisoft's E3 2017 press conference, this time taking the form of an open world prequel to the first game. With a new set of colourful characters, a brief demo showed anthropomorphic creatures raiding a docked ship and escaping from the law.
As of 2020, most major details of Beyond Good and Evil 2 remain hidden from view. More recently, it was revealed that development had been plagued by difficulties. Some of the dev team spoke of disorganised and abusive management, which has kept the game firmly locked in development hell.