Ubisoft Singapore’s Skull and Bones has had a rough time since its announcement at E3 2017 with numerous delays, development troubles and allegations of mismanagement. It seems to be on track though with the recent Insider Program that allowed participants to play an early version. Whether it’s from the same build or not, six minutes of alpha gameplay has leaked courtesy of Reddit user Weslam_L.
The plot revolves around the player wanting to ascend the ranks of piracy, starting with a meager trading ship and progressing forward. Gather more Infamy by accepting contracts from NPCs and you can craft bigger, more menacing ships. These contracts can be done with up to three players though other activities like exploration, hunting for treasure and world events will provide Infamy as well.
All-in-all, the current version seems squarely focused on naval combat. We’ll have to wait and see if there’s anything more on offer. Insider Tom Henderson reported on Ubisoft preparing announcements on 20 or so titles with Skull and Bones being one of them. The publisher is reportedly “very happy” with the game’s artistic direction along with the progress made thus far and is planning to launch the game by April 2023.
