Although production on the open-world pirate game started in 2013, Ubisoft just announced it at E3. It was mostly created by Ubisoft Singapore, and before it was separated as a stand-alone game, it was originally intended to be a multiplayer DLC for Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. However, Skull and Bones’ development was beset by problems, such as frequent changes in the project’s scope, direction, and leadership, a high staff turnover rate, and financial overruns. The game’s release date is drawing near, but beta testers for Skull and Bones haven’t had great news.
The cost of AAA games has always been a source of debate, but Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot believes that the upcoming Skull & Bones is worth the $70 price tag. On February 16, Skull & Bones will be on sale with live-service components and the full AAA pricing.
A recent earnings call for the third quarter of Ubisoft’s fiscal year 2024 was conducted. In the conversation, Guillemot rejected the idea that Skull and Bones would have been a better game if it had been made available for free. Instead, he explained why he thinks the $70 price is fair for a game of that caliber. The CEO of Ubisoft contended that the game’s enormous scope warrants collecting the entire fee upfront. “It’s a triple-A, if not triple-A, game that will pay off in the long run.”
Ubisoft claims that the size of Skull and Bones justifies the cost
One caller noted that Skull and Bones now seemed to be pursuing a more live service approach during the Q&A portion of a conference call reporting Ubisoft’s Q3 sales for its fiscal year 2024; the game’s Year 1 plan, for instance, was just released. The caller said that a free-to-play model would better fit the live service elements and offer Ubisoft a better chance of developing a community. The caller also questioned why Ubisoft was insistent on charging $70 for the game and thus restricting the size of its user base. Guillemot disagreed quoting;
It’s a very big game, and we feel that people will see how vast and complete that game is. It’s a full, triple… quadruple-A game, that will deliver in the long run.
While the Ubisoft executive seems to be speaking with confidence, it’s difficult to determine how much of that is warranted news of beta testers leaving Skull and Bones for boredom surfaced in December. After just one hour, one tester resigned, and more testers quickly came forward with similar accounts. The absence of anticipated elements like sword combat was criticized. Testers also expressed dissatisfaction with the game’s central ship combat, tedious objectives, and badly written dialogue. They also mentioned running into some of the same problems as in the last beta. Though that was over two months ago, it’s not sure how much has changed in that time.
The Skull and Bones open beta began on February 7 and ends on February 11 at 6:00 PM Eastern/3:00 PM Pacific. Players may import their progress from the beta into the full version of the game and enjoy cross-play functionality on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Three days ahead of schedule, Skull and Bones may be played by fans who purchase the $100 Premium Edition.
