Beyond Good & Evil 2 Studio efter sigende under undersøgelse for "hidtil uset" udbrændthed og sygefravær

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Ubisoft Montpellier – the studio behind the meget længe under udvikling Beyond Good & Evil 2 – is reportedly facing upheaval as it grapples with a labour investigation into “unprecedented” levels of employee stress and sickness, and the departure of its managing director.

As rapporteret af Kotaku, Ubisoft Montpellier – perhaps best known for its work on the Rayman games under studio founder Michel Ancel, who rejste i 2020 amid claims of toxic behaviour – is currently being investigated by Montpellier’s Inspection du Travail due to an “unprecedented number of developers experiencing burnout and going on sick leave”.

According to the website’s sources, who were unauthorised to speak about the issue and wished to remain anonymous, “dozens” of Ubisoft Montpellier developers, including “many” leads, have taken extended leave for stress or sickness over the last year, with some choosing not to return – a situation leading to a visit from the French labour inspection office in December.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 Trailer – E3 2017.

Kotaku says that visit resulted in the hiring of a third-party entity, which has now been tasked with interviewing Montpellier employees to provide a full report on the health and wellbeing of the studio’s teams – something Ubisoft has now confirmed.

“The health and wellness of our teams is an ongoing priority,” the publisher told Kotaku. “Given the length of the development cycle with Beyond Good & Evil 2, the Montpellier development team is undergoing wellbeing assessments through a third-party for preventative measures and to evaluate where additional support may be needed.”

As the Inspection du Travail continues its investigation of Ubisoft Montpellier, employees have reportedly been told that managing director Guillaume Carmona – who is said to have been absent from the studio since the start of this year – has now left the company. Carmona had been with Ubisoft for nearly two decades and became the head of its Montpellier studio in 2019.

Kotaku also highlights a number of other changes within the Beyond Good & Evil 2 team, with creative director Jean-Marc Geffroy having reportedly been replaced by the game’s former associate director Emile Morel, while Charles Gaudron is now game director following the departure of Benjamin Dumaz.

Beyond Good & Evil 2 was first teased by Ubisoft in 2008 but wasn’t heard of again indtil 2017, med nye oplysninger om dens fremskridt på vej kun sporadisk since then. It’s yet another troubled title for the embattled Ubisoft, which has only just managed to få The Settlers ud af døren efter et tumultarisk halvt årti med forsinkelser, og kæmper stadig for at frigive pirateventyret Skull & Bones efter næsten ti år i udvikling.

Det projekt var for nylig forsinket endnu en gang as Ubisoft confirmed the cancellation of three unannounced games – on top of the fire kampe aflyst i juli sidste år – and a move to “increased cautiousness over the coming years” after disappointing financial results.