Rayman was originally included in Beyond Good and Evil and other development secrets

Ubisoft’s platforming mascot Rayman was once featured in the files of Beyond Good & Evil, as shown in a video of the game. Just released 20th anniversary edition,

Launched yesterday – after first being made Mistakenly available last year – The anniversary edition of BG&E includes an extensive behind-the-scenes collection of artwork, early gameplay videos and production footage. After spending a few hours looking at it last night, I can confirm that it’s a real gift for any BG&E fan.

Below, I’ve picked out some of the things that stood out to me the most – as someone who loves the game and has been waiting nearly 20 years for news of a sequel. And if you feel the same way, there’s plenty more to enjoy, including plenty of footage of cut levels via the actual game.

Rayman originally had a cameo

For a game that features photos of strange specimens, it’s perhaps no surprise that Rayman and BG&E creator Michel Ancel has apparently hidden an Easter egg where you can find the limbless protagonist himself. Alas, Rayman didn’t make it into the final cut of the game. The image above is taken from a development build of the game where Rayman was fully playable – although it was never planned for a public release.

Jade was originally named Sally

Everyone knows BG&E’s main heroine as Jade, but she spent a long time in pre-production and production under the name Sally. Concept art and even early placeholder audio lines describe her by this old name – which was changed because it sounded “too English”. (Oh, and the original name of the IRIS Network was SPOON.)

The heroes of the game were originally pest control

Zed and Pidgey were initially planned to work for an inter-galactic pest control service, which required them to travel to various locations and get rid of rats. In reality, rodents would have been an enemy in the game (and their appearance in the final version hints at their once much larger role).

was a drink smoker

Around March 2002, Payne was given a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Ubisoft says his smoking habit was something the developers wanted to explore, but had to leave it out to keep the game’s age rating low.

between good and evil

The original title for Beyond Good and Evil was “Between Good and Evil”, although it was first shown to journalists in the summer of 2002.

The Domz were originally good guys, and we would have visited their home planet

It’s long been known that BG&E was originally planned as a game with multiple planets. Well, one of these was supposed to be the home planet of the game’s villains, the Domz, although in earlier versions of the game’s story they would have been a more innocent race taken over by a different evil species. The Domz also had a much less threatening look – as you can see below.

Jade originally had more partners, including a Domz

Plans for several other companions were left on the cutting room floor, including a Domz character named Toil who lasted relatively far into production. Toil would have been encountered later, as part of a cancelled mission set on an orbiting satellite, and would have been instrumental in Zed learning his true identity. Another cut character – though abandoned long ago – was a brother for Zed.

Jade fought with her fists until the last stage of evolution

The decision to have Jade fight with her Dai-Jo staff was made in the final stages of development, in February 2003. Until then, combat had been limited to hand-to-hand.

And a little sneak peek for Beyond Good & Evil 2…

The 20th Anniversary Edition collection includes only a single mention of Ubisoft’s long-awaited upcoming successor. “We also noticed that Peyage was described at the time as a ‘hybrid clone,'” a development note states, referring to a July 2002 description of Jade’s uncle, “a notion that would be heavily developed in future prequels.”

With the release of the 20th Anniversary Edition, Ubisoft has once again confirmed its commitment to launching Beyond Good & Evil 2 at some point. There are no details on when, though, and the game is already a best-selling game. Guinness World Record for the project that has been in development the longest,

In January 2023, Ubisoft told Eurogamer that “Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in development and the team is working hard to deliver on its ambitious promise.” But The project was once again missing from Ubisoft’s latest showcase,