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 - 11:47 / rockpapershotgun.com / Ubisoft Singapore / Ubisoft
The much delayed, rebooted, and delayed live service pirate 'em up Skull And Bones actually pencilled in a release date not long ago. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more remarkable, Ubisoft have also announced it'll get an open beta before it launches. In only a couple of weeks, you'll be able to sail the seven seas with a purple rarity cannon firing off common rarity cannon balls that you bought off a rank 25 landlubber with your Skullbucks. Cool!
The open beta begins on the 8th February and runs until the 11th. You can access it via Ubisoft Connect or the Epic Games Store, with your progress carrying over to the full game when it launches on February 16th. I'd head on over to Ubisoft's official announcement page if you're curious about recommended PC specs.
As for what you'll get up to: a lot of pirating. You'll get a chance to see the "pirate den of Sainte-Anne" or in other words, a hub that's probably a bit like Destiny 2's Tower except there's less wizards and more parrots. Outside of the safe spaces, there will be three isles to discover, presumably all of increasing difficulty. "Main Campaign Contracts" will act as a way to progress through a story of some sorts.
The highest rank you can attain will be Brigand, but you'll be free to keep playing until the beta ends. And judging by the announcement page, there will be a lot of Ubisoft map-clearing to tackle. We're talking every type of contract. You like contracts? S&B has it all! Side contracts, repeatable contracts, bounty contracts, and world events that are surely just contracts with a different name. And of course, you get a bunch of exclusive rewards for taking part, most of which are a bit eh, except a pet lemur called "Cookie".
Our Alice B previewed the game last year and thought its busywork - "flashing weakpoints", collecting crafting materials, "staying inside demarcated areas for fights" - would be a "bulwark to the kind of instant joy on the open water that Sea Of Thieves facilitates". Not exactly a glowing preview, eh.
It won't be long until we get our mitts on it and see what it's like, after all these years.
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.
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.
Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot has defended the $70 price tag for Skull and Bones, calling it a “quadruple-A game”.