Well, someone at Ubisoft is in serious trouble after they accidentally released an unannounced remaster of Beyond Good & Evil called Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition. The game briefly appeared on the Xbox Storefront, and Ubisoft+ subscribers also reported that it was available to download and play.
Naturally, Ubisoft tried to remove the listing and copyright any footage uploaded to Youtube, including the 30-minute walkthrough of the game. But this is the Internet, and trying to erase things is like closing the gate to a field after the bull has gone haywire and is busy destroying the local pottery shops.
Xbox achievement tracking sites have also noticed that the game’s achievement has appeared.
The listing describes the new version of the game as having “4K, 60fps with improved graphics, controls and audio, as well as brand new autosave and crosssave features.”
It also mentions brand new content: “Discover more about Jade’s past in a new treasure hunt across the Hillies.”
I won’t link to the in-game footage because Ubisoft is in a hurry to clean it all up anyway, but it looked smart. It’s not a full-on remake or anything, but the graphics upgrade looks pretty good, especially considering the game is 20 years old. A couple of screenshots doing the rounds look rough, though. However, it could just be people trying to find deliberately unflattering pictures.
Although it was never officially announced, we’ve known about the existence of some sort of Beyond Good & Evil remastering for a while now. A couple of months ago, the ESRB – the US ratings board – listed the game, revealing that it will launch on PS4, PS5, Switch, PC and Xbox. Despite this, Ubisoft remains completely silent about the project.
They’ve also been tight-lipped about the sequel, only occasionally making it clear that they’re totally, 100%, still working on it. It was heavily teased in 2008 and then properly announced in 2017. At this point, even the most die-hard fans are beginning to question whether a sequel will ever be released.
Going back to the anniversary edition, surely Ubisoft will recognize it as genuine. However, it would be very funny if they didn’t.