"Beyond Good & Evil" was developed by Michel Ancel, the creator of the "Rayman" video game, at Ubisoft's Pictures studio in Montpellier. The game was developed under the codename ""Project BG&E"", with production lasting more than three years. A group of 30 employees composed the development team. Ubisoft's chief executive officer, Yves Guillemot, fully supported the project and frequently met with the team. After years working on "Rayman", Ancel wanted to move on to something different. He recalled that the goal of "Beyond Good & Evil" was to "pack a whole universe onto a single CD—mountains, planets, towns. The idea was to make the player feel like an explorer, with a sense of absolute freedom."