The original Beyond Good & Evil is getting a 4K overhaul for its 20th anniversary, Ubisoft announced Thursday during a Limited Run Games showcase. Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition will bring updated graphics, controls, and audio to the beloved original.
Beyond Good & Evil 4K remaster is finally official, out next week
Ubisoft confirms long-awaited 20th anniversary edition
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Michael McWhertor is a journalist with more than 17 years of experience covering video games, technology, movies, TV, and entertainment.
Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition will feature improved performance — “up to 4K, 60 fps,” Ubisoft said — and quality-of-life improvements including auto saves, cutscene skipping, controller and keyboard-and-mouse support, and cross-save across all platforms. All-new features include a speedrun mode, 20-plus new achievements and trophies, and a gallery that delves into the original game’s development with never-before-seen artwork and videos.
More intriguing is an “exclusive new mission” with a “narrative link to Beyond Good & Evil 2” that shows Ubisoft’s “enduring commitment to the franchise,” the publisher said in a news release.
The Beyond Good & Evil re-release may not be much of a surprise to longtime fans; the game’s existence (and even an unfinished version of the remaster itself) leaked last fall.
1/16Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition Image: Virtuos Games, Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft
The original Beyond Good & Evil was released in 2003 on GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Set more than 400 years in the future, the story of Beyond Good & Evil follows photojournalist Jade in her attempt to expose an alien conspiracy. Despite being a commercial miss, the game became a cult classic over the years. In 2017, Ubisoft announced a prequel named Beyond Good & Evil 2, but the publisher hasn’t said much about it lately. The last official word on BG&E 2 came in 2021, when Ubisoft said the sequel was still in development. But the stars of Beyond Good & Evil — Jade and Pey’j — recently appeared in Ubisoft’s animated series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.
Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition will be released digitally on June 25, on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. A physical version (and a collector’s edition) will be released by Limited Run Games. Pre-orders for the physical versions of Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition will go live on July 12.
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