Michel Ancel, creator of the Rayman, the Rabbids, and the Beyond Good & Evil series, allegedly left Ubisoft following investigations into his problematic behaviour in the workplace.
Previously, it was reported that Ancel's departure was borne out of a decision to "focus on other personal projects," one of these being building a wildlife sanctuary. Ubisoft confirmed that Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Wild would continue without his involvement, but that the team will remain "committed to remaining true to [his] vision." Now, a new report from French newspaper Libération claims that both games have been in development for a long while with very little news on their progress because Ancel was very difficult to work with.
Translated from French into English by Kotaku, the sheer scope of Beyond Good & Evil 2 caused "an unusual amount of [staff] exhaustion, depression, and burnout." Ancel apparently swerved from decision to decision, and the team weren't able to keep up with his requests. "I have seen a good dozen people go on sick leave, probably more... Meeting people with tears in their eyes, it happens often," said one developer working on the game.
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"He is able to explain to you that you are a genius, that your idea is great, and then he can take you apart in meetings by saying that you are a piece of shit, that your work is worthless, and not talk to you for a month," asserted another developer. Employee surveys allegedly show the yo-yoing of satisfaction with the project, and Ubisoft brought in new management to attempt to smooth things over.
However, the sources speaking to Libération said that this wasn't successful. These new executives were chasing the aspiration of "saving" Beyond Good & Evil 2 from itself, which led to disillusionment in the team. Finally, Ubisoft almost axed the game in early 2019, but the developers were able to produce a playable build and avoid their work over the years going to waste. The project is now apparently progressing well, and Ubisoft acknowledged that there is an ongoing investigation into Ancel's impact on the project.
Posting to Instagram, Ancel has responded to the article from Libération. "Take a few people with rage and jealousy and let them speak in the name of hundreds," he said. "Publish the news fast so that it combines with sexual harassment from other news at Ubisoft. Is this serious?" Ancel was actually interviewed in the report, but he pointed out the role that higher-ups played in the game's troubled journey. "I bring a vision, and producers and managers decide what to do, when and how. They are powerful people in the making of such a big projects. Why don't the journalist speaks about them?" he clarified.
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He has invited the newspaper to review the "mistakes" that were made in the original report, and assures he will "[fight] every single lines of that news." Ubisoft has not supplied any further comment on investigations that are currently happening at the company.
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