Beyond Good and Evil 2 studio Ubisoft Montpellier is allegedly being investigated for labour violations after employees took extended sick leaves and experienced burnout over the course of the game’s lengthy development. The anticipated game’s 15 year development cycle has since seen the franchise creator, Michel Ancel, part ways with Ubisoft and now the game’s managing director has also left.
The Inspection du Travail in Montpellier, France is apparently interviewing Ubisoft Montpellier staff in order to compile a report on labour violations. Employees at the company, especially over the last year, took extended leaves for sickness and stress including many lead developers. The studio’s managing director Guillaume Carmona recently left the company when he failed to show up after taking sick leave at the beginning of the year.
READ MORE – The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition Revealed for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC
Sources told Kotaku that the high turnover for staff during Beyond Good and Evil 2‘s long development has led to plenty of instances where staff would report burnout, fatigue and stress and take leave for long periods of time. A Ubisoft spokesperson provided a comment on the current allegations:
“The health and wellness of our teams is an ongoing priority. Given the length of the development cycle with Beyond Good and 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.”
It’s safe to assume that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is stuck in development hell at the moment. The game was first revealed over a decade ago and was later re-revealed in 2017. We’ve since only received a CG trailer and some alpha gameplay but nothing to suggest what the game will actually play like. A report from December 2022 claimed that the sequel was still only in early development somehow, meaning it likely went through a development reboot or is a lot further away from launch than we think – assuming it does ever release.
Source: Kotaku
