Ubisoft designer Michel Ancel told JeuxVideo today that a sequel to his 2003 action-adventure game Beyond Good & Evil is in the works. This probably comes as a shock to the majority of gamers, who are unaware there was even a first Beyond Good & Evil game.
BG&E, released on PC, Gamecube, Xbox, and PS2, was an interesting genre-bender. Alright, I'll admit I never played it, but from what I hear, the gameplay was a mix of stealth infiltration, hovercraft driving, combat with a bo staff and photography. It was well-received by critics but sales didn't live up to expectations. To be fair to the BG&E, timing played a factor - it was released in November of 2003 against heavyweight games like the Deus Ex sequel, Call of Duty, and Ubisoft's own Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. The net effect was that fans of the different genres that BG&E flirted with were all occupied with other releases.
The game did manage to inspire a cult following, however, and it looks like Ubisoft's willing to give the franchise another go. In Ancel's statement to JeuxVideo (thoughtfully translated by videogaming247 here), he mentions that Beyond Good & Evil 2 has been in pre-production for the past year with a team of 10-15 people.
Ubisoft hasn't decided whether to push the project into production yet, though - fans of the original game, this is your cue to go badger Ubisoft. As for me, I'm going to go elbow-deep in a bargain bin and see if I can find this game. I love me some hovercraftin'.
