Ubisoft’s self-proclaimed “AAAA” pirate game Skull and Bones is finally here, and while the PvP part of the game is entirely optional, high-level captains have already found a way to ruin the experience of low-level players.
26.01.2024 - 10:59 / techradar.com
In a stroke of exciting news for seafarers and pirates, Ubisoft has announced that multiplayer open-world pirate sim Skull and Boneswill get an open beta ahead of its imminent February 16 launch.
The open beta will begin on February 7 at 6pm PT (which is 2am GMT and 1pm AET on February 8) and run until 3pm PT on February 11 (which works out as 11pm GMT, and 10am AET on February 12).
You can join in through the Epic Games Store, the Ubisoft Store, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. According to the Ubisoft website, the beta will be «open to everyone» (via PC Gamer). This is the first time that Skull and Bones has been available in an open beta, with all previous betas being distinctly closed affairs.
Players will be able to take on Main Campaign Contracts and gain Infamy — how players level up in Skull and Bones. However, both are locked to prevent players from progressing too far during the beta. As Ubisoft puts it: «You will be able to play and experience the world of Skull and Bones up to the rank of Brigand (Tier 6 rank 1).» Judging by the Deep Dive Trailer from last December, this will likely involve you serving a pirate kingpin but will cut off progression before you can start to run an independent pirate empire.
Open beta participants will also get a set of exclusive rewards ranging from a fancy sail emblem to a pet lemur.
The announcement also came hand-in-hand with a Roadmap Trailer which you can see below.
Ubisoft has four seasons planned for its first year of content, each including new events, rewards, and themed battles.
In case there was any doubt at this stage, Skull and Bones will be following the live service model embodied by the likes of Sea of Thieves and Destiny 2. This means that Ubisoft has set itself a considerable challenge when it comes to keeping Skull and Bones an attractive prospect for players throughout its lifecycle.
The prospect of dramatic naval battles and piratical treasure hunts has certainly piqued my interest; I'll see you on the high seas on February 11.
In the meantime, check out our lists of the best co-op games and best survival games for more tense action.
Ubisoft’s self-proclaimed “AAAA” pirate game Skull and Bones is finally here, and while the PvP part of the game is entirely optional, high-level captains have already found a way to ruin the experience of low-level players.
Despite being delayed six times so far, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot is highly confident in Skull and Bones, so much so that he is tempting fate, invoking the dreaded «AAAA» moniker. The last developer we can recall doing that was the ill-fated Striking Distance Studios with The Callisto Protocol, a game with a sad ending.
We almost don't want to believe it, but it looks like Skull and Bones really will be launching on 16th February. After that long and difficult journey, Ubisoft's oft-delayed pirate action game is almost ready to drop anchor. Just before that happens, though, all players will be able to take it for a spin for free via an open beta test.
I haven’t followed the development of Skull and Bones too closely over the years; I’d see the pirate game emerge at a show with a new trailer or demo, and then sink back beneath the waves with delay after delay. So when Ubisoft opened the game to the public with an open beta recently, I was intrigued to see how the close-to-final product looked. I’ve been known to enjoy a spot of piracy, and Ubisoft has the incredible Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag in its back catalogue, after all.
Like spotting the first sign of shore after years adrift, Skull and Bones has finally, actually found its way to launch. Six separate delays and several different concepts that were forced to walk the plank might’ve made you understandably apprehensive about Ubisoft’s long-brewing pirate game, but I’ve already found a yo-ho-whole lot to be excited about after spending nearly 30 hours with its surprisingly unconstrained open beta this past weekend. The 17th-century Indian Ocean works well as avast open world to be explored and plundered, the RPG mechanics are (briny) deep with opportunities for buildcrafting alongside your fellow scurvy dogs, and the naval combat you’ll spend bucca-nearly all your time on the high seas engaging with is tactical and consistently entertaining. Aside from the expected instability one usually encounters with a beta for an online game, the only red flags so far are the lackluster story and a list of endgame activities that feel like they could become repetitive in short oar-der. I won’t be able to complete my voyage until the full version sets sail later this week, but I’m already excited to sea more.
In Skull and Bones, although the Open Beta only lasted a few days, it was just enough time for some players to achieve some pretty awesome feats. Like EagleEGamer, who became a millionaire.
It’s been another cold week, and one that’s proven perfectly suited to wrapping up and playing video games. I’ve been working my way through Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, and we’ll have the review for that one on Monday. Other than that, there’s been a chunk of Suicide Squad, a heap of Naruto X Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, a spot of Granblue Fantasy Relink, a smidgen of Dave the Diver and a soupçon of Street Fighter 6 as well.
Continuing their great prank of pretending they plan to release Skull And Bones, Ubisoft today launched an open beta for their multiplayer open-world pirate boat game. The free beta will run until Sunday night, after which Ubisoft will presumably delay the game for another seventeen years while once again redesigning the whole thing. When you buy your great grandniece Skull And Bones for her 17th birthday, you'll be able to tell her you were there for the mythical open beta of '24.
During the Q&A session of a recent earnings call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot defended the decision to price upcoming pirate-themed multiplayer title Skull and Bones at $70 despite the game having live-service trappings.
After beginning development in 2013 and numerous delays later, Ubisoft Singapore’s seafaring pirate action RPG, Skull & Bones, will finally set sail next week. In the meantime, you can watch the launch trailer and even jump in early with the game’s open beta, which kicks off today.
Ubisoft's live-service pirate ship game Skull and Bones is a «quadruple-A» project, company boss Yves Guillemot has said.
Thar be no room for landlubbers here. Get ready to start a golden age pirate’s journey taking you from shipwrecked nobody to kingpin when Skull and Bones launches February 16 on PlayStation 5, with an Open Beta running from February 8-11*. The development team at Ubisoft Singapore has been hard at work ensuring that the Skull and Bones experience is as immersive as possible on PS5, thanks to features like 3D audio, adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and more.