Skull and Bones Beta Dates and Details Revealed

The best-looking ship blueprints in are not so easy to grab but, when players are able to craft them into vessels for navigating the seas, they are well worth it – especially in comparison to the first little boat they have, the Exeter's Jolly Dhow. The pirate game by Ubisoft, which started as a spin-off project based on ’s naval system, was first announced back at E3 2017. Initially aiming to be released in 2018, the title had complications in its development process and, after multiple delays, its development was entirely rebooted.

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.

The Carnival of Love seasonal event arrives in Pokémon Go, bringing about plenty of opportunities to earn lots of XP and catch plenty of pocket monsters.

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.

Ubisoft has defended Skull and Bones' lofty price tag, dubbing it a "quadruple A game," but many who've played the recent beta aren't sold on it. 

Skull and Bones has been a long time coming. What started as DLC for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag back in 2013 has spiralled into a pirate MMO that Ubisoft is dubbing a "quadruple-A" game, costing a reported $200 million to develop.

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.