Skull and Bones has been mired in development woes since its announcement in 2017, but at long last its release appears to be close at hand. Ubisoft's maritime multiplayer title has been scrutinized for its prolonged development cycle, but Skull and Bones' unique setting and gameplay present an opportunity to fill an underrepresented niche in the gaming landscape.
Development of Skull and Bones began as a spin-off to Assassin's Creed: Black Flag in 2013, and the game has gone through a multitude of developer shake-ups, missed deadlines, and design changes to become nearly unrecognizable. Delayed over a half-dozen times and considered by some to be a boondoggle for Ubisoft, Skull and Bones' new tentative release date is sometime between 2023 and 2024, though no one could be blamed for doubting that. With the publisher spending over $120 million on the game, its existence is arguably something of a sunk-cost fallacy - though as the recent release of Dead Island 2 suggests, these projects occasionally still stick their landing.
Skull and Bones Wears Many Hats
The current vision for Skull and Bones is an enticing blend of genres with the focal point squarely resting in its naval combat. Set during the Golden Age of Piracy, character progression in Skull and Bones exists on multiple fronts, grinding levels of pirate infamy through contracts and skullduggery while crafting bigger and better ships and weapons. Survival mechanics keep progression at an even keel, forcing players to forage for food and water while balancing the morale of their pirate crew. The most recent iteration of the game shown off in 2022 appears to share a lot of DNA with its contemporary Sea of Thieves, but having a greater emphasis on piracy simulation and crew management.
Skull and Bones can be played in multiplayer or as a single-player experience, but the former represents an opportunity for Ubisoft to supply a growing demand in gaming. Death in Skull and Bones results in some loss of progress, with players dropping their hard-won booty where they were sunk and having to navigate back to recover the goods. Of course, other players who may or may not have had a hand in that death are also free to those items, laying the groundwork for a cutthroat dynamic that could attract fans of the increasingly popular extraction-shooter genre.
How Skull and Bones Can Chart a Course for Success
If Ubisoft can deliver an exciting sandbox with fulfilling rewards, Skull and Bones may find relevance in a gaming niche where Sea of Thieves only skimmed the surface. With more vertical progression as opposed to the horizontal, cosmetic-only philosophy in Sea of Thieves, Skull and Bones can achieve a greater sense of risk and reward, where taking an expensive and well-armed galleon can aid in ruling the high seas but also opens up the possibility of losing more progress. That concept of gear is pivotal in extraction-shooters, where equipping the best armaments makes the player a more formidable adversary but also a more valuable target. With most of these games being land-based, a naval setting could be Skull and Bones' ticket for success.
It is possible that Skull and Bones will go through more changes before launching as Ubisoft continues to float resources into its decade-long seafaring adventure. Hopefully whatever pivots occurred will serve to give Skull and Bones the best possible chance to succeed. A number of people have already written the title off as vaporware, but its novel concept and the support of a seasoned AAA publisher could make it a surprise hit.
Skull and Bones is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
