"Beyond Good and Evil 2" has not been "in development" as long as "Duke Nukem Forever", but it is already there. The earliest "still in progress" posting was in 2012, already several years after its announcement, and the latest posting was in February 2020.

This is an unusual situation, and it got even more unusual today: the creator of BG&E, Michel Ancel, who has been spearheading the sequel's production all along, announced today on Instagram that he is leaving the gaming industry to work at an animal shelter.

"After more than 30 years, I have decided to stop making games and focus on my second passion: wild life!" he wrote. My new project is set in the real world and is dedicated to education, nature lovers, and ...... It consists of an open sanctuary of wildlife dedicated to wildlife."

As for Beyond Good and Evil 2, there is nothing to worry about, he said: "The team has been autonomous for months and the project is going very well. We will soon see something beautiful."

I initially thought this was another one of Ubisoft's developer's "jokes," but the company released a statement acknowledging his departure.

"Michel Ancel has decided to stop working on video games in order to focus on other personal projects. Over the years, Michel has shared his creative vision and helped us stay true to the wonderful universe of BG&E." His uncompromising passion has pushed us to redefine what is possible in creating a vast, multicultural, futuristic science fiction world. We are committed to staying true to this vision as we move forward."

The statement also notes that Ancel "has not been directly involved with BG&E2 for some time now" and that the development team is "working hard to build on the solid creative foundation he helped to form," and despite his recent relative silence, apparently progress is being made.

"We recently passed a significant internal milestone, delivering a build that proves our space pirate fantasy, offering hours of gameplay and incredible freedom in a seamless online sandbox. I am incredibly proud of the team's perseverance, dedication to each other, and continued commitment to developing a great game."

The development team is now scaling up, with Ubisoft Paris joining as a "partner studio," and Brunier said he hopes to be able to unveil more details about "Beyond Good and Evil 2" within the next year.