Though officially announced nearly six years ago, Beyond Good and Evil 2 seems to have made little to no progress behind the scenes- in fact, it only seems to be getting further and further away from a point where it feels like it could actually launch someday. Reports have revealed that the game has been frequently rebooted and delayed, and with it still not having entered proper production, there seems to be no end in sight for its interminable and torturous development cycle.
Now, a new report published by Kotaku has revealed that developer Ubisoft Montpellier has run into even more stumbling blocks. As per the report, the studio is facing a labour investigation by the by the Inspection du Travail in Montpellier, France, amid growing concerns of alarmingly increasing burnout, stress, and sickness among employees, which has led to an “unprecedented” instances of sick leaves and departures from the studio.
“The health and wellness of our teams is an ongoing priority,” a Ubisoft spokesperson said. “Given the length of the development cycle with Beyond Good & Evil 2, the Montpellier development team is undergoing well-being assessments through a third-party for preventative measures and to evaluate where additional support may be needed.”
Amid these investigations, the studio seems to have also gone through yet another major shakeup that has seen several key members in leading positions being replaced. Managing director Guillaume Carmona has reportedly left the studio, while senior creative director Jean-Marc Geffroy and game director Benjamin Dumaz have been replaced by Emile Morel and Charles Gaudron respectively. The report claims that executive producer Guillaume Brunier could also eventually be replaced.
Ubisoft has assured time and time again that development is progressing on Beyond Good and Evil 2, though the company has refused to provide any concrete details on what sort of progress it has made, or whether it is any closer to entering full production. Past reports have claimed that the game’s cancellation is deemed inevitable by some members of its development team.