By now, the woes and sorrows of Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones have been well-documented. The naval combat/pirate title is out later this year, not necessarily because it’s in the most polished state but apparently due to an existing subsidy agreement with the Singapore government.
With Ubisoft delaying Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to fiscal year 2023-24, cancelling two unannounced titles along with Splinter Cell VR and Ghost Recon Frontline (not to mention Assassin’s Creed Rift reportedly being “far behind schedule”), the pressure is on to find a new hit. Unfortunately, developers working on Skull and Bones who spoke to Kotaku are skeptical of it filling those shoes. One developer claimed that there was “little” to the experience beyond what was seen in the recent gameplay showcase.
They further said that each part of the game lacks depth even with all of the different resource-gathering and survival sim aspects. As such, it would be a hard sell for Ubisoft given the lack of any proper campaign (that we know of) and the $70 price tag on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. But the lack of compelling gameplay out of the gate may result in most players falling off after launch (which can further hurt its post-launch plans).
Skull and Bones is out on November 8th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
