Ubisoft’s long-in-development Beyond Good and Evil 2 is showing signs of life as the publisher is looking for a senior gameplay animator to help what it’s still claiming is one of its biggest projects yet.
The role specifically outlined for Beyond Good and Evil 2, says the animator will be part of bringing realistic performances “while respecting the technical restraints,” (thanks VGC (opens in new tab)).
In a tweet (opens in new tab) put out by Ubisoft about the role, it reiterated the scope of the game as one of the biggest the studio has ever put out. The tweet says: “Take ownership of the quality of the animations and the functionality of the gameplay systems in one of the most ambitious Ubisoft projects to date.”
Take ownership of the quality of the animations and the functionality of the gameplay systems in one of the most ambitious Ubisoft projects to date 🏴☠️Apply today – https://t.co/y7POEkGkqb pic.twitter.com/fXR056a4c8May 19, 2022
This new job listing also aligns with another Beyond Good and Evil 2 job listing that was posted in October 2021.
While this is encouraging, it brings us no closer to understanding the state of the project. It was initially announced at E3 2017, and since then, while it has appeared in various livestreams and subsequent E3s, we’ve seen no active gameplay footage and aren’t any closer to understanding what the game is or how it will work.
Believe it when you see it
It’s hard to really know where we stand with Beyond Good and Evil 2. This job posting shows it is very much in active development, which is certainly encouraging. The game had been so quiet for so long that it wouldn’t have been a surprise to find out that the game had been quietly shelved.
Series creator Michel Ancel left Ubisoft to pursue other interests in 2020. And on top of that, a Bloomberg (opens in new tab) report from February also stated that the game was still in “pre-production after at least five years of development”.
This new role suggests that Ubisoft is actively developing game, so it does seem progress is being made. However, after such a long period of silence and uncertainty, it’s tough to buy into the hype that it’s “the most ambitious Ubisoft projects to date”, especially as we have no frame of reference for what the game actually is.
Don’t get me wrong. It would be amazing to see Beyond Good and Evil 2 at something like Summer Games Fest Live in June. However, it definitely feels best to take an ‘I’ll believe when I see it’ stance.