Beyond Good & Evil 2 creative director Emile Morel has died aged 40

Beyond Good & Evil 2 creative director Emile Morel has reportedly passed away.

The game designer, who also worked on Rayman Legends during 14 years with Ubisoft, died aged 40, according to one of several colleagues who have paid tribute to him.

“A cherished colleague for over a decade at Ubisoft Montpellier, we laughed and wept through good times and bad, and shipped a lot great games together,” said LightSpeed LA lead writer Monique Gabrielle Shrager (spotted by IGN).

“Emile was so very proud of Beyond Good and Evil 2, the Space Monkeys and his teammates. He will be sorely missed.”

“You’ve been such a great and kind partner during all these years at Ubisoft. I’m grateful to have worked with you on so many projects,” wrote Ubisoft Montpellier producer Greg Hermittant.

“Even through the most difficult times, you always remained the caring and supportive person you were with your beautiful positive mind.

“But the most important is the wonderful moments we had. With no doubts Rayman Legends is my best memory. I will miss our private jokes and imitations.

“You will miss Beyond Good & Evil. Be assured we will continue your work.”

Prior to his time at Ubisoft, Morel worked as a designer at Eden Games on titles including Test Drive Unlimited 2 and 2008’s Alone in the Dark.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 has had a protracted and troubled development cycle. Ubisoft first teased the game in 2008, although this was followed by almost a decade of silence before the title resurfaced at E3 2017, when the publisher revealed it would take the form of a prequel.

In February, a Kotaku report claimed Ubisoft Montpellier managing director Guillaume Carmona had left the studio amid a labour investigation by local government authorities.

Three sources told the site that Carmona’s exit followed a year in which dozens of developers took extended leave for stress or sickness as the studio continued to struggle with development of Beyond Good and Evil 2.

According to the report, Beyond Good & Evil 2 was still not even technically in pre-production as Ubisoft Montpellier had yet to settle on a creative vision for the project.