Everything we know about Ubisoft’s pirate adventure, Skull & Bones.
Ubisoft’s piratical adventure Skull & Bones has had a troubled development but be assured it is still on the horizon. Announced back in 2017 at Ubisoft’s E3 conference with a scheduled release date of 2018, the game has since been delayed several times. However, after an update in September 2020 (more on that below), we know that Skull & Bones is still in the works and that production is “in full swing with a new vision.” It remains unclear what this “new vision” involves, though there have been rumors that Ubisoft is looking to introduce more live game elements, and we still don’t know an exact release date. What we do know is that Ubisoft Singapore is still “committed to launching the game, as well as supporting it for many years to come” and we’re hopeful that 2021 is the year we’ll hear more about Skull & Bones. So, with that, below we’ve gathered all of the news and rumors about Skull & Bones so far for your perusal. Keep reading to find out more. Originally slated for a late 2018 release, Skull & Bones has been delayed three times and is now expected to be released (at the earliest) in April 2021. Skull & Bones was first delayed in May 2018, after which Ubisoft announced the game would launch in 2019. In May 2019 it was announced during an earnings call that the game will be delayed into the company’s next fiscal year. Finally in October 2019, it was revealed that the game had been pushed back to the fiscal year beginning April 2021, meaning no high seas hijinks until 2021 or early 2022. At the time of the most recent delay, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said Skull & Bones was « a very big product » for Ubisoft with « huge potential » and that the delay was to ensure the game releases « at a level that will surprise and please all gamers for the long term ». Skull & Bones is confirmed to release on PS4, Xbox One and PC – but, due to the delay, we’d expect PS5 and Xbox Series X releases too. E3 2018 brought us a new gameplay trailer for Skull & Bones, showing off how things will work in the game’s cutthroat hunting grounds. However, given reports the game has been rebooted, we’re unsure how much of this gameplay (or any of the gameplay shown in trailers to date) we’ll actually see in the finished product. Skull and Bones received two trailers during its E3 2017 debut, one which was cinematic and another which showcased the game’s multiplayer and PvP gameplay. We’ve rounded up all the biggest news and rumors around Skull & Bones below for your perusal. It’s worth noting that previously confirmed news and features may now be redundant, given reports of the game’s reboot (read more on that below). September 2020 update After a good while without any news, we got an update on the progress of Skull & Bones in September 2020. In a post on the Ubisoft website, Ubisoft Singapore creative director Elisabeth Pellen confirmed that the game is still in production but that it just needs more time before it’s ready. After thanking fans for their patience, Pellen said, “I’m thrilled to confirm this: production on Skull & Bones has been in full swing with a new vision. Our teams at Ubisoft Singapore are fully committed to launching the game, as well as supporting it for many years to come”, adding “we’re currently working on plans to present Skull & Bones sometime in the future. It will be worth the wait.” Pellen went on to say that the reason for the game’s delayed launch is simply that it needs more time: “We dreamt something bigger for Skull & Bones, and these ambitions naturally came with bigger challenges. These difficulties resulted in necessary delays for our game. Critical questions needed to be addressed over the past several months such as: how do we modernize the classic pirate fantasy? How do we ensure a more immersive and visceral experience? How do we create cool and memorable moments in-game? For most of these questions to be answered, it was clear that we needed more development time.” As a result of the game’s evolution, the Skull & Bones development team has expanded to bring in fresh eyes.
