If it seems as if you’ve been hearing about Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones for an absurdly long time without a game to show for it, that’s because you have. It was announced and demo’d at E3 all the way back in 2017 – we even played it! But it’s been delayed and delayed more in the ensuing years, long since missing the original expected window, back when we thought it might clash with Sea of Thieves. You’d certainly be forgiven for doubting the planned TV show is still happening.
The good news is that at least the game’s not dead. Ahead of Ubisoft Forward, which begins today and will not feature S&B, Ubisoft Singapore Creative Director Elisabeth Pellen says the game’s production “has been in full swing with a new vision” – buoyed by “fresh eyes” on the title.
“Many of you have been wondering why we’ve had to postpone our launch. The answer is that we simply needed more time. We dreamt something bigger for Skull & Bones, and these ambitions naturally came with bigger challenges. These difficulties resulted in necessary delays for our game. Critical questions needed to be addressed over the past several months such as: how do we modernize the classic pirate fantasy? How do we ensure a more immersive and visceral experience? How do we create cool and memorable moments in-game? For most of these questions to be answered, it was clear that we needed more development time.”
How much development time? Well, Pellen mentions a “comeback next year,” so we’ll keep our eyes peeled.
