Skull and Bones is finally out of the holds of Ubisoft. The pirate game was introduced to us through gameplay footage and was even offered a release date. We summarize everything you need to know about it.
[Mis à jour le 11 juillet 2022 à 13h14] There are projects that take their time before coming to light. In the case of Skull and Bones, you can almost count a full decade. Originally developed as DLC for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Skull and Bones went through many changes of hands and directions to end up as Ubisoft Singapore’s first original project. Become a multiplayer action and adventure game in open world, it intends to immerse you in the shoes of a budding pirate. You will try to develop your influence and your reputation to become one of the most famous buccaneers of the 18th century, from the coasts of Africa to those of India, via Madagascar. A game that it will also be quite possible to play solo, and which we will explain to you in detail in this article.
Just here :
A presentation of about ten minutes enlightened us on the exact nature of the gameplay of Skull and Bones. The game puts you in the shoes of a castaway, destitute, trying to survive in a hostile environment. Your goal? Build a ship, gather a crew, develop your reputation and unlock new equipment in an open world populated by more or less hostile NPCs and other players. The progression system is based on your reputation. By completing certain contracts, you can accumulate reputation and thus gain access to new ships, weapons and equipment.
Of course, you can fully customize your pirate, your ship and your crew. You will be able to control the weapons of your ship, manage the morale of your crew to avoid mutinies and accumulate outfits to become the most stylish pirate of the 18th century. When it comes to threats in the world of Skull and Bones, you’ll need to watch out for privateers who relentlessly hunt down pirates, but also other players who might just be interested in the contents of your hold. It will also be possible to join forces with other players and form flotillas to carry out certain missions.
As for the fights, Skull and Bones seems for the moment to be limited to only naval battles. No transition to melee during boarding or landing, the latter remaining entirely reserved for in-game cinematics. undeniable. For Skull and Bones, it is above all a question of offering a game of navigation and combat at sea almost close to an MMO. Although it is entirely playable in solo, the game seems to take the form of a service game, its universe marked by free updates deployed as the months follow its release. And although the mention of a battle pass has not yet been made, we are betting heavily on its presence in the game knowing the Ubisoft fanatic.
The game had a chaotic development, passed from hand to hand since 2013 before ending up as Ubisoft Singapore’s first major project. Decision-making changes that have resulted in a strong delay of the game, announced for the first time at the E3 2017 show. But Skull and Bones has finally received an official release date! The game will be released on November 8, 2022 on next-gen consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series) and PC only. PS4 and Xbox One players are unfortunately not offered versions of the game.
Skull and Bones is still in development and offers players the opportunity to participate in the various playtests that will take place throughout the year. To do this, you will need to go to this page and select the platform on which you plan to play the game (PC, PS5 or Xbox Series X|S). You will then receive instructions by email, if you are selected, on the different ways of accessing the different playtests of the game. For the moment, no information has been sent on the dates of these test phases, but with a release scheduled for November, they may well be coming very soon.