Ubisoft delivered an unexpected surprise during its E3 press event today with the reveal of a proper, full-on cinematic teaser for Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Creator Michel Ancel, who seemed close to tears at times, made a point of thanking everyone involved for their patience over the game's 15-year—and, to be clear, still incomplete—development, in particular Ubisoft CE Yves Guillemot. He also threw a shout-out to the fans of Beyond Good & Evil, "for sticking with us for so long."
As for the BG&E2 itself, it take place before the birth of Jade, the lead character in the original game, "in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural human society in a distant solar system," narrative director Gabrielle Schrager explained. "It is a time when corporations create hybrids in their labs, and enslave them to colonize the stars in order to compete for power and cosmic resources. With our crew of crazy and unforgettable characters, we fight in the name of freedom and the right to determine our own fates among the stars."
The trailer itself is pretty great, although we can't ignore that it's strictly a cinematic—no gameplay is shown. There is also, despite all the time that's already passed, no hint of a launch date, although hopefully Ubi's willingness to start showing it off means it's getting close. Ancel spent a few minutes breaking down the trailer in greater detail in another video that you can check out below.
He also invited fans to help shape the game by joining the "Space Monkey Program," which is a bit tricky to do at the moment thanks to the sudden rush toward the BG&E website. Fortunately, we have Twitter told hold us over.
Since Beyond Good & Evil 2 site is down, here's the thing about the Space Monkey Program pic.twitter.com/fZ2BRb8EMaJune 12, 2017