Ubisoft drops the ball with Beyond Good & Evil announcement
It's fair to say that Ubisoft is having a bit of a tough time at the moment. Star Wars Outlaws is apparently 'woke' because it has a female protagonist, Assassin's Creed Shadows has come under fire for including a black samurai, and Skull & Bones is pretty much a shipwreck already.
As gaming giants come, Ubisoft is one of the biggies - holding some major IPs under its belt. However, as you crave something more than the Assassin's Creed games, Beyond Good & Evil is once again at the forefront of our minds.
Ubisoft botches Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary announcement
It's hard to believe it's been nearly 21 years since Jade first leapt into action with the OG Beyond Good & Evil, but with it being regarded as one of the best video games of all time, its legacy is hardly surprising. To honour this milestone, Ubisoft is releasing a Beyond Good and Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition remaster.
That news should be big, but in classic Ubisoft style, it was spoiled ahead of time. For starters, the fact that this game probably should've been released to celebrate the game's anniversary last November has raised a few eyebrows - was it delayed, or is this a quick scramble for a cash grab?
The Beyond Good and Evil X account teased an announcement ahead of the Limited Run Games Showcase, while the original game being delisted on Steam as our next big clue. Unfortunately, someone at Ubisoft clearly hit send early, as the announcement was published 20 minutes before the LRG showcase, and then quickly deleted.
This has become a recurring theme for Beyond Good & Evil, as back in November, the Xbox Store accidentally published a listing for the anniversary remaster. To make matters worse, Ubisoft+ players were able to download a playable version of the game. Ubisoft eventually relented and admitted the game was coming, while it later blamed a "technical error" for it going live early.
Beyond Good & Evil fans aren't happy
Click to enlargeWhile we'll take all the Beyond Good & Evil we can take, it's not exactly the news we were hoping for. The Beyond Good and Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition remaster is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC (via Epic Games Store) on June 25, although you'll have to wait until July 12 for a physical copy.
That's not the main grumble, as a sequel has been in the works since at least the early noughties and was officially announced in 2008. Aside from leaked footage from a game that Game Director Michel Ancel was from a build that doesn't exist anymore, we've only had an official trailer back in 2017.
Given that the recent Ubisoft showcase gave us a glimpse of a candle to tease the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, and that's not coming until 2026, gamers are feeling aggrieved that the company continues to dodge the status of Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Responding to the news of the remake on Reddit, one fan fumed, "Ubisoft doesn't give a f**k about Beyond Good and Evil and doesn't want to give fans hope that the 2nd game will ever be real," while another added, "Michel Ancel retiring was the nail in the coffin for Beyond Good & Evil 2 as far as I care."
Limited Run Games isn't known for its speedy release schedule, and summing up the situation, someone concluded, "By the time Limited Run begin shipping them, we might get beyond G&E 2 news." We've once again had our hopes raised, only to be dashed. All as Beyond Good & Evil 2 continues its own sorry legacy as vaporware.
