Skull and Bones was Ubisoft's big expansion for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag back in 2013. Since then the game has been transformed into an MMO-like multiplayer title and then nothing. Ubisoft has been quiet about this game's sudden non-existence but a recent report from Kotaku has confirmed what many already speculated. A terrible development due to toxic work conditions, lack of vision, and constant reboots. It's basically Anthem, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Too Human and so many others like it.
Ethan Gach spoke to several Ubisoft employees about Skull & Bones' development and it's not good. The sources explained that launching the game for February 2022 was hopeful, to say the least, and this was after the game was delayed multiple times for years.
“No one believed February 2022 [for launch], but you always hope,” one current developer told Kotaku following the latest delay, announced during Ubisoft’s May investor’s call.
The game suffered from a lack of direction, managers vying for power, and multiple refreshers. With the core design not even settled on, with the project costing around $120 million and hundreds of developers. The worst is that the game is simply too big to cancel and too much has been sunk into the game. With an employee comparing it to Anthem.
Ubisoft developers receive project-based bonuses based on how well their games do. Those attached to big, nearly annual franchises like Assassin’s Creed are often assured healthy payouts. But Skull & Bones was so in the hole, sources told Kotaku, that the project had to undergo a financial write-off internally for its developers to still have a shot at any sort of payout.
“No one wants to admit they fucked up,” said one developer. “It’s too big to fail, just like the banks in the U.S.”
“If Skull & Bones were at a competitor it would have been killed 10 times already,” said one former developer.
It just gets better as Ubisoft has taken subsidies with the Singapore government and must release the game.
But three sources also told Kotaku that a deal with the Singapore government requires it. In addition to hiring a certain number of people at its Singapore studio in exchange for generous subsidies, they said, Ubisoft Singapore must also launch original brand new IPs in the next few years.
Many, including myself, are hopeful that this game will not turn out like another Cyberpunk 2077. However, if this article is true, and the evidence is heavy, Skull and Bones is looking to become another trainwreck. Joining Ubisoft's other titles such as Assassin's Creed Unity, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Watch Dogs, and Hyper Scape.
Skull and Bones has no release date and is currently in development.
Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed
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| Platform(s): | PC |
| Publisher(s): | Ubisoft |
| Developer(s): | Ubisoft, Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Blue Byte, Ubisoft Chengdu |
| Genres: | Action, Adventure |
| Themes: | Multiplayer, Pirate, Shooter |
| Release Date: | 2024-02-16 |
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