Skull and Bones – What Went Wrong?

The past year or so has been a somewhat cathartic experience for long-awaited games, especially considering the number of disappointments in 2022. However, 2023 was also a year that titles thought to be vaporware finally emerged. Nearly nine years and two studios later, Dead Island 2 finally released and offered some good ol’ hack-and-slash zombie-slaying experience. There’s also Pikmin 4, announced in 2015 and touted as being “very close to completion.” Launched in July 2023, it garnered an 87 Metascore and sold 3.33 million copies by December 31st.

The past month hasn’t been nearly as kind for such titles. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a culmination of years of rumors and reports, emerging as another tedious live-service looter shooter averaging a little over 2,000 daily players on Steam. At least they’re adding The Joker in March.

Then there’s Skull and Bones. Where do we even begin? Skull and Bones was slated for launch in the latter half of 2018 but faced a delay to 2019. From there, a whopping six additional delays occurred until it finally launched on February 16th, 2024. From development on Xbox One, PC and PS4 to finally arriving an entire generation (and a dead Google Stadia) later, it’s received lukewarm reviews. Granted, only 18 critics have weighed in per Opencritic, and some positive impressions are certainly out there, just like some enjoy playing the game.

However, the general mood doesn’t seem to be anger or shock at all the years of development to deliver what is, at best, a bland experience. If anything, claiming it to be a quadruple-A title that justifies its $70 price tag probably elicited more outrage. Much like the game, the consensus feels like one big “meh.”

It’s crazy due to the reportedly chaotic nature of development. Senior staff members came and went. The original vision saw several reboots and setting changes – at one point, it reportedly played more like a land-based survival game. As of July 2021, sources told Kotaku’s Ethan Gach that the project had cost over $120 million to develop. With nearly three years of additional development afterwards, the cost likely spiked even higher. The term “too big to fail” was reportedly bandied about. The developer couldn’t just cancel or launch the title – it needed some return on its investment.

Perhaps it expected a live-service juggernaut providing years of recurring revenue (just like the many cancelled battle royale games it reportedly had in development). The greatest irony is that despite the amount of time and effort invested, it’s now available at a time when live-service games are more reviled than revered.

Is this a consequence of not chasing trends fast enough? Poor management that muddled what could have been a straightforward project? A structure that just never fell into place? The upper hierarchy rapidly shifting goals and redefining what it thought the game should be?

Maybe it’s all of the above. The current version could be assembled from existing assets and systems, with everything coming together in the past few years (which would line up with the developer proclaiming a “new vision” in September 2020). However, here’s another possible issue on top of everything else – it was probably meant for mobile at some point.

All the signs are there. The starting screen tells you to press a button to rule the high seas, which could easily have been “Tap the screen to rule the high seas!” The constant, annoying pop-ups that cover your screen and inventory, informing you of Cutthroat Cargo, Legendary Heist and Hostile Takeover opportunities.

The multitudes of resources and currency. The timers on the end game Manufactories which encourage checking in every few hours to maximize earnings. The tedious amounts of sailing that an auto-sail option would have probably mitigated. The lack of immersive elements like interacting with crewmates or operating the cannons and sails yourself.

There have been no reports or official confirmation of Skull and Bones ever being in development for mobile devices – it’s just an observation. However, even if it were true, it wouldn’t have survived in today’s market. Not because it doesn’t have the design principles, monetization practices or free-to-play structure of its biggest competitors but because the bar is set so much higher in terms of polish and overall quality.

Perhaps the developer thought that these kinds of tactics are what constitutes a valid end game. Maybe the development team implemented these to have players return in the first month or so, showcasing a strong monthly active user count and justifying further support. It could even explain away the story, which feels like an afterthought, or some elements of the interface, which translate well to mobile.

Whatever the case may be, it’s an amalgam of questionable decisions. The open world feels like little more than a vehicle to assign tasks to the player – no attempts at compelling side characters, with some of the best writing relegated to letters and notes you pick up and forget about. Despite this, the aesthetic and art design are solid, even if the locations are little more than backdrops.

The gameplay may be simple, with some of the most repetitive objectives available, but combat and sailing feel decent and even fun sometimes. It’s like there are two or three visions, pulling in multiple directions, trying desperately to make something but never being allowed to succeed, much less combine into one cohesive package.

Skull and Bones probably could have become something more in the right direction. It’s difficult to say whether removing the live service elements would allow it to thrive since extensive work is needed to expand on what’s currently there. As is usually the case, Skulls and Bones could introduce some compelling stories, maybe revamp the gameplay from the ground up and turn it into an immersive experience. We’ve seen these overhauls before from Ghost Recon Breakpoint, The Division, and Rainbow Six Siege.

However, it’s the game’s soul which presents the biggest challenge. It isn’t quite a realistic ship combat game, nor does it fully jump the shark and embrace fantasy. The live service elements aren’t the draw, but neither is anything else.

Skull and Bones is a title pretending to capture the freedom and conflict that defined the Golden Age of Piracy, yet delivering an uninspired and ultimately inconsequential experience. While it will likely be forgotten in a few months (if even that), it won’t even be remembered as the biggest live service flop of February, and that is truly tragic.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.