Ancel Keeping Beyond Good & Evil 2 Team Small To 'Preserve Creativity'

After a turbulent development history that has involved possibly being canceled and uncanceled multiple times, a sequel to the 2003 cult favorite action-adventure game Beyond Good & Evil is publicly in the works, but series creator Michel Ancel says the game will "take time" because he is deliberately keeping the team size small to "preserve creativity." "On this game, we're keeping the team small, to preserve creativity and so the game doesn't become a commercial product, so that is has soul," Ubisoft designer Ancel said this week, according to a Eurogamer translation of comments made in French at the Montpellier in Game conference. Last week at E3, Ubisoft announced the development of Rayman: Origins, the latest 2D game in the Ancel-originated platforming series. It is being developed by a team of only five, using tools intended to reduce the number of technical hurdles between artists and game development. The team plans to eventually release those tools to the public. Ancel indicated that the Beyond Good & Evil 2 team is using similar tools for its own game. "It takes a bit longer," he admitted, "but we're very keen to use this system with this game, because it's an ambitious game and we want to create something exceptional." Some reports have indicated that the designer, like the Rayman: Origins team, hopes to release those tools to the public. Beyond Good & Evil was originally released for PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Although it was not a major commercial success, it received a positive critical reception and generated a passionate fan base. In the seven years since its release, Ancel has frequently expressed his desire to return to the game's universe. In 2008, a teaser trailer for a sequel surfaced, but Ubisoft later claimed it was merely a concept video, and was not confirmation of a new game.