15 years after its first tease, Beyond Good and Evil 2 loses key developer amid investigation into employee welfare

Beyond Good and Evil 2's road to release has been rocky, to say the least, and the troubled title has run into yet more difficulties and major ones at that. 

As reported by Kotaku, last week, staff at Beyond Good and Evil 2 developer Ubisoft Montpellier were informed that managing director Guillaume Carmona had left the company. Carmona, who's spent nearly two decades at Ubisoft and has been head of the Montpellier studio since 2019, is said to have been absent since the beginning of the year. No reason was given for his departure.

On top of that, there have been several other notable shifts within the development team, including senior creative director Jean-Marc Geffroy being replaced by Emile Morel, who previously worked on the game as an associate director. Additionally, following the departure of Benjamin Dumaz, Charles Gaudron has taken on the role of game director. 

As well as the changes within the core team, the studio is also reportedly facing a labour investigation due to "an unprecedented number of developers experiencing burnout and going on sick leave." According to Kotaku sources, over the past year, dozens of developers at Montpellier, including higher-ups, have been taking extended leave for stress or sickness. Some have returned while others have left the company entirely, prompting a visit from the Inspection du Travail in Montpellier last December.

This has led to a third-party being appointed to interview Montpellier employees and provide a full report on their health and well-being. A spokesperson for Ubisoft told Kotaku, "The health and wellness of our teams is an ongoing priority. Given the length of the development cycle with Beyond Good & Evil 2, the Montpellier development team is undergoing well-being assessments through a third-party for preventative measures and to evaluate where additional support may be needed."

Last year Beyond Good and Evil 2 surpassed Duke Nukem Forever to become the game with the longest-ever development period. Given all the issues with the game's production, you'd be forgiven for assuming it will never see the light of day. Back in 2021, Ubisoft confirmed that the game is still in development and is "progressing well" but admitted that it's "too early" to say when it'll be released. Now almost two years later, we're still none the wiser.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 may be in limbo, but plenty of great titles are launching before the year is out. See them all in our guide to new games 2023.