In the wake of the news that a new Beyond Good & Evil game is in pre-development at Ubisoft with Michel Ancel heading up the project, Let’s Play Video Games has learned of a few details regarding the planned direction of the much-anticipated new entry in the franchise.
As many have noted since Ancel’s Instagram reveal for the game, neither Ubisoft or Ancel are referring to the game as Beyond Good & Evil 2. Lets Play Video Games has been informed by a source familiar with negotiations on the project that the game is planned to be more of a standalone reboot than a traditional sequel.
According to our source, the currently planned direction for the game is that it will partially retell Jade’s origin tale from Beyond Good & Evil, flesh out Peyj’s backstory, then continue to extrapolate on the ending of the original game. The intention is that players who have not played the original will be able to jump into the new game, which will feature a subtitle rather than a number at the end of its title, and understand both who Jade is and what drives Pey’j. It also seeks to provide closure to fans of the original wondering what the cliffhanger at the end meant for the series’ ongoing plot.
While many existing fans of the series may be upset about the new game not being a direct sequel, the idea of modernising the original tale and fleshing out the world while continuing the story beyond where it once ended offers the series a better chance of an ongoing life than it previously had.
Additionally, we have learned from a separate source that there are plans for a new CG trailer for the game to be shown alongside the NX reveal. Much like the 2008 trailer, this is planned to be a tone piece rather than a plot or gameplay reveal, and will be used to announce its NX exclusivity. The game is currently aiming for a Summer 2018 release window, according to sources at Ubisoft.
