Playing a high seas swashbuckler who lives by their own rules and commands their own ship is the ultimate pirate power fantasy. The thing is, there aren't too many games that get it right. For a long time now, Sea of Thieves has really been the only major port of call to fill this void, but 2024 looks set to finally see the long-awaited release of another: Skull and Bones. With a launch date announced for February 16, 2024, Ubisoft Singapore is striving to deliver a co-op pirate open world RPG experience.
In what first reportedly began life as a DLC for Assassin's Creed Black Flag way back in 2013, the online nautical adventure spins its own kind of rags to riches tale, that will, as senior producer Neven Dravinsky puts it, see you take on the role of a "shipwrecked nobody who will need to defy, thrive, and rule" in their bid to become the most infamous pirate kingpin in the Indian Ocean.
"In the beginning, you'll need to raise your Infamy by completing activities such as taking up contracts, going on treasure hunts, plundering forts, and much more," Dravinsky says. "As you climb through the ranks, you'll gain access to blueprints that will allow you to craft better ships, weapons, attachments, and furniture with resources gathered from the world."
"Players will immerse themselves in a gritty pirate fantasy as they build their empire and spread their dominance across the seas. They will explore a visceral world, with unique biomes and characters such as cutthroat individuals who will either aid or hinder their progress depending on the players' choice."
Setting sail
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It's been a long journey to bring the "gritty pirate fantasy" to life, with Skull and Bones first getting announced officially as a standalone game separate from Assassin's Creed back in 2017. With six delays pushing back its release over the years, it hasn't been smooth sailing, but we're now closer than ever before to seeing how Ubisoft's take on a live-service pirate offering takes shape. There are plenty of features that show potential, from its Infamy system that you'll raise to make a name for yourself, to crew management, and crafting, which will play a big part in your survival on the high seas. The scope for adventure is part of the team's efforts to shift the direction of Skull and Bones over the course of its development, and envision something bigger for the project since its initial inception a little over six years ago.
"Six years ago, our game was actually quite different," says Dravinsky. "It was more centered on a quick session-based experience that is PVP only. However, we saw the potential to dream bigger with the game. And with the market evolving each year, so did our game."
"With Skull and Bones, the team is constantly innovating to find new and better ways to bring a unique perspective of the pirate fantasy to life by working with the community. This is especially so with the recent Closed Betas we've held. Putting the game into the hands of players for the first time was momentous for a lot of us - and the positive response we received reaffirms that we're on the right path. Our goal remains the same then and now – to deliver an immersive pirate experience to our players."
A pirate's life for me
Naval combat will of course be a big part of the "immersive pirate experience". After all, the more infamous you are, the more likely it is you'll be hunted down by others. And it's once again thanks to player feedback that major features such as ship-based battling have continuously been improved and iterated on. Alongside closed betas, the Insider Program has given members of the initiative a chance to try out early versions of the game to provide feedback that helps the team expand and refine ideas.
"Creating a new IP is as fulfilling as it is challenging and takes time to fully develop," Dravinsky says of the additional development time in the wake of delays. "Over the last few years, we've been iterating on this version you'll see today, by working closely with our community through the Insider Program and regular user tests. The community feedback we received has helped us to improve the game, especially in our co-op, naval combat, and gameplay variety."
"Our game already has an amazing solo experience. But we've made recent investments in the experience, the most important one was ensuring the entire game can be played in co-op. We continued to add depth to our weapon system to strengthen our naval combat system has been further enhanced with improvements to our weapon system, making each weapon choice feel unique, and encouraging different playstyles."
With more fantastical activities also added, such as ghost ships, sea monsters and more, Dravinsky teases that we can look forward to new events and features in "our seasonal post-launch". He adds: "Our mantra is we're going on this journey with our community, and this is what we believe differentiates a successful live game. It's important that we're ensuring that people who are playing have a voice, and we're able to create experiences that would resonate with them."
Here are all of the upcoming Ubisoft games currently in the works.
