According to Engadget, Ubisoft is somehow still hiring for Beyond Good & Evil 2 in late 2025, with a job listing for a technical sound designer suggesting the project remains in development. The game was first teased way back in 2008 and officially announced in 2017, with Engadget describing the 2018 gameplay presentation as “wildly ambitious” to a concerning degree. By 2022, Bloomberg reported the game was still in pre-production, making this new hiring activity the first public sign of life in years. The job description confirms it’s still planned as an open-world space opera prequel to the 2003 cult classic, running on Ubisoft’s proprietary Voyager engine.
The development hell continues
Here’s the thing about Beyond Good & Evil 2: it’s become gaming‘s ultimate vaporware case study. We’re talking about a game that’s been in some form of development for nearly two decades. Remember when Cyberpunk 2077’s long development seemed excessive? This makes that look like a speedrun. The fact that Ubisoft is still hiring for technical roles in 2025 suggests they haven’t given up, but it also tells us this thing is nowhere near completion.
When ambition meets reality
What’s really fascinating is how the game’s scope seems to be its own worst enemy. An open-world space opera with seamless solar system exploration? That’s the kind of pitch that gets executives excited but gives developers nightmares. And in today’s gaming climate where even established franchises are getting canceled left and right, you have to wonder if Ubisoft’s commitment is more about sunk cost fallacy than genuine belief in the project. I mean, how many times can you reboot development before admitting the vision might be fundamentally unachievable?
The broader gaming industry picture
This news comes during what might be the worst period of layoffs and cancellations in gaming history. Studios are shutting down, projects are getting axed, and yet Beyond Good & Evil 2 soldiers on. It makes you wonder about Ubisoft’s priorities. Are they keeping this alive as a prestige project while cutting more viable games? Or is there some internal calculus we’re not seeing? Either way, the contrast between this game’s survival and the industry’s brutal cuts is pretty striking.
So what happens now?
Realistically? Don’t hold your breath. A single job posting for a sound designer doesn’t mean we’ll be playing this anytime soon. At best, it suggests the project has moved beyond pre-production. At worst, it’s just Ubisoft going through the motions to maintain the illusion of progress. The real test will be whether we see more substantial hiring or actual gameplay footage in the coming months. Until then, Beyond Good & Evil 2 remains gaming’s most persistent ghost.
