Beyond Good & Evil 2 finally revealed in cinematic trailer

Beyond Good & Evil 2 is real, and we can prove it — Ubisoft showed a cinematic trailer to introduce the game during its E3 2017 press briefing.

The game is a prequel to the original Beyond Good & Evil, which was released 14 years ago. Its story takes place before the birth of Jade — the protagonist of the first game — in a multi-ethnic civilization, said Gabrielle Shrager, narrative director at developer Ubisoft Montpellier.

“We’ve been working very hard just on the technology,” said Michel Ancel, the game’s creative director. The game will feature a “seamless online playground” in which people can play by themselves or with friends.

Beyond Good & Evil 2 takes place in the 24th century in a solar system called System 3. It’s an interstellar hub that people from Old Earth have migrated to; resources are limited, and private firms fight over the scraps that are available. In other words, System 3 is a great place to be a space pirate.

“We’re creating a sci-fi space opera, a game where players fight for freedom alongside unforgettable characters and explore a stunning and vast solar system, all while capturing the spirit of Beyond Good and Evil,” said Ancel in a UbiBlog post.

Ubisoft Montpellier is inviting players to participate in the development of Beyond Good & Evil 2 through an initiative that it calls the Space Monkey Program. (The game’s website is currently down, which is unsurprising.)

“Join all the Space Monkeys on the dev team — and around the world — to crash-test, discuss and inspire everything from character design, to cultural influences, to the flight controls on our massive star-faring vessels,” the website reads. “We want you by our side at the earliest stages of development and throughout production to take part in the adventure!”

Ancel also did a video breakdown of the reveal trailer; you can see it below. Ubisoft did not announce platforms or a release window for Beyond Good & Evil 2. The company officially confirmed last October that the game was in development, and later that month, Ancel said that all the features the team was working on — planet exploration, interstellar travel and space cities — were elements that he wanted to include in the original game.