There's some incredibly sad news coming out of Ubisoft Montpellier today. Beyond Good and Evil 2 game designer and creative director Emile Morel has passed away at the age of 40.
IGN originally spotted tributes on LinkedIn. Morel previously worked on games like Rayman Legends as a senior game designer and started out at Ubisoft in 2009 according to his profile on the website.
Here's one message shared by a former colleague:
M. Gabrielle Shrager: "Emile Morel, creative director of BGE2, left us behind this week at the shockingly young age of 40. 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. Emile was so very proud of Beyond Good and Evil 2, the Space Monkeys and his teammates. He will be sorely missed. May it be shipped in his name. RIP Emile."
Ubisoft has not shared a statement, but many people across social media and other platforms are already paying their respects to Emile.
On behalf of the team and community here at Nintendo Life, our thoughts go out to Emile's family, friends and colleagues.
[source ign.com]
Comments 37
May he rest in peace. Prayers to his family and friends.
dang, 40?! that is young. wonder what the cause was? RIP
Both Legends and Origins were modern platformer masterpieces that are very overlooked. His legacy will live on through his games and what he gave to us.
Well that’s horrible. Thoughts with his family and best to not let this descend into needless speculation.
40?? That's really sad
Game designers, like musicians and all other artists, live forever through their work. Rayman Legends is a platforming masterpiece
My thoughts are with his family and friends
That was my favorite game to play on the PS VITA., my condolences to his family and his UBI SOFT family. Thank you for giving us fun and and great gaming memories…🙏🙏🙏
May he rest in peace and game in heaven with other industry legends such as Iwata-San.
40 is too young. Wish his family the best.
How sad. My condolences to his family.
Rayman Legends is my favorite 2D platformer of all time. Ubisoft somehow took a look at what Nintendo was doing with games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns and made something that, in my opinion, managed to surpass their original inspiration.
It's one of the prettiest looking games I've ever played, but visuals don't mean a whole lot of the gameplay itself isn't very fun. So if he was the senior game designer, I owe a lot of that game's enjoyability to him. I've probably beaten Legends at least six times, first on Wii U and then Switch, and I actually just dipped back into it on PlayStation Plus like a week ago. I haven't collected all the Teensies on that file yet, though, so maybe I'll do that in his honor. I'll do a little more research about what goes into his exact job title so I can specifically be on the lookout for things that came together thanks to his oversight and appreciate it. It's easy to forget that behind all the lines of code, there is a human touch behind every game we play. Humans who touch not only the games themselves, but the hearts of players everywhere.
Thank you for your contributions to such an amazing game. He isn't gone, he's just jamming out with granny in the Land of the Livid Dead.
I remember playing Rayman Legends with my siblings late at night (When we're supposed to be in bed). We had so many memories!
RIP thanks for all the joy you've brought everyone, prays to your family.
May he Rest In Peace🙏🏾
RIP, well now it looks like Beyond Good and Evil 2 is truly never gonna happen and even if it did it won't be the same BG&E 2 that Emile Morel envision. Such sad loss for all five sides (his family, his co-workers, the company, the community, and fans of the game).
So young. I’m so terrified of death, every time I see this stuff if makes me want to run out and get a full body scan to make sure I am 100% healthy.
“May it be shipped in his name.”
May it be shipped, period!
I actually yelled no when my mind processed what I read, this is so sad, and at age 40, too young, may he rest in peace.
death is inevitable for everyone but you dread it more the older you are..
Man, at age 40? Still a young age.
Thank you for your contributions to Rayman and Rest In Peace. My condolences to his family.
@GamingFan4Lyf
As someone with diagnosed OCD, and someone who grew up with a hypochondriac older brother, I would strongly encourage you NOT to do that. At least, not beyond reasonable limits. If you're having a concern about present symptoms, then by all means, go see a doctor. Or if medical professionals recommend a healthy person get a screening for such-and-such type of cancer every x number of years, do it. But if you're not careful, you can get to the point where you're never content with the results and compulsively keep coming back again and again to make sure you're okay. It can really take a toll on your psyche. I know all too well what it's like to obsess over diagnoses you don't even have.
My advice is to live in the moment--step outside your comfort zone and pursue the things you want while there is still breath inside of you. Exercise common sense--I'm not saying to be reckless--but don't waste time fearing what we cannot control, as death is inevitable for us all. I don't know if you're spiritual, and I'm not gonna push my views on you, but faith can be a great comforter. What you describe sounds like health-related OCD, and I wouldn't wish that suffering on anyone.
Terrible, so young. He brought a lot of joy with his creativity.
All my thoughts and prayers to his family. Far too young. Rest in peace, Emile.
My four year old calls it "Rock n' Roll Game," because of the musical stages. I have a clip of him yelling "RUN FROM THE CROCODILE!" that I regularly watch to make my day better.
https://youtu.be/zQyCL8L4a2c
The game gave us a ton of great memories. Guy was my age. Ooof.
@ArcadianLegend99 and i'm 41 too, scary 😱😱 i'm also curious as to how he passed too 🤔
"The posting advertises an opening for a senior concept artist who would work on Beyond Good and Evil 2, with the very name of that role suggesting the game is nowhere near completion. Not least because concept artists are mainly involved in the pre-production stage of game development, as the main purpose of their work is to provide references for modelers, environment artists, and animators."
Seems like he was sick for a lil bit & Ubisoft was looking for his replacement during the time
What a tragedy. Legends is a rare game I continue to go back to and I am exceptionally greatful to his contributions.
RIP. Rayman Legends was one of my favorite games in my old Xbox 360. This guy is about the same age as me. Very tragic and prayers to his family and loved ones.
Rayman Legends is one of the greatest games ever made and his work on it is undoubtedly a major reason why it ended up as fantastic as it was. Absolutely heartbreaking to see him go at such a young age, may he rest in peace ❤
Way too young, my condolences to his family and friends and thank you for the games you made, Rayman Legends in particular!
That's really really sad news. Best wishes to family and friends.
@Serpenterror michel ancel has been gone from ubisoft for a while and is credited with creating rayman and BG&E, so the loss of Mr. Morel is sad but likely won’t change whatever direction ubisoft gonna take BG&E2 (if it ever comes out).
I'm sorry to hear this. Thanks for all of you're work on Rayman and other games. RIP
Removed - inappropriate; user is banned
40 is really not a good age to day. May he rest in peace.
I'm not sure if I played beyond good and evil or 2, I do remember the mags talking about it all the time when it was been made. Really good game.
as someone who is close to 40, and loves Rayman Origins/Legends this kinda hits hard.
A very unexpected passing of a brilliant mind. His work shall live on each time someone plays one of his games for the first time.
People's deaths are not gaming news. If I want to read about death, I read the regular news. Depressing new trend.
@Thirsty_Hirsty oh right cause this was covered on CNN. Grow up.
So young, crazy how people are dying so young these days. Hope he kept up with his faith in Christ.
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