Due to a growing number of troubling allegations, Ubisoft Montpellier, the production company behind Beyond Good and Evil 2, is the subject of a labor investigation.
According to sources, a labor investigation is currently taking place at the Ubisoft Montpellier development team's Beyond Good and Evil 2 studio. Montpellier has once again been thrust into the negative spotlight as a result of Montpellier's development studios, which are allegedly particularly problematic. Montpellier's publisher, Ubisoft, has been accused of a wide range of misconduct and management issues.
Even though Beyond Good and Evil 2 has been delayed more than Duke Nukem Forever, the issues at Ubisoft Montpellier seem to extend much further than problems with the way the game's development is being handled. The studio has experienced a number of veteran staff departures, but sources have also heard that there have been serious burnout issues.
While Ubisoft maintains that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is still in development, little information about the game has been released over the past few years, indicating a rather slow pace of development at Ubisoft Montpellier. As a result of the developer's "unprecedented" number of extended sick leaves, GamesIndustry.biz has now reported that the company is going through a number of labor investigation processes. There have also been claims of burnout, and although Guillaume Carmona, the managing director of the studio, recently left, no explanation has been given, it appears that this is merely the most recent in a string of resignations. In fact, it appears that these departures are what sparked the Inspection du Travail,France's labor surveillance service, to take a closer look at what's going on at Ubisoft Montpellier.
One of many contemporary games stuck in development hell is Beyond Good and Evil 2, and if the most recent allegations about what's going on with the Ubisoft Montpellier staff are true, nothing is going to change anytime soon. Numerous developers are said to have already permanently left the studio, and Ubisoft has acknowledged that a "third-party for preventative measures" is investigating the matter to offer a qualified assessment.
However, this apparent financial crisis at Ubisoft Montpellier is not a recent development. Some Beyond Good and Evil 2 developers foresaw its cancellation in the latter half of 2022, citing problems with the game's creative direction. The idea that the project didn't simply fit with the course that other Ubisoft productions were taking was brought up as another issue.
It could be argued that everything is in place for Ubisoft to permanently axe Beyond Good and Evil 2. The fact that Ubisoft canceled seven games in as many months at the start of 2023 paints a rather dismal picture of the state of the studio. According to what the labor investigation reveals about Ubisoft Montpellier, its eagerly anticipated game may be the next to be shelved.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 is in development.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz