Ubisoft Is Still Trying To Make Skull and Bones Happen

Oliver Brandt
·2 min read

Skull and Bones key art

Many moons ago, Ubisoft announced it was working on a standalone pirate game called Skull and Bones. It was supposed to be a multiplayer version of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag’s naval combat, but it’s been a bit of a rocky path to release, to say the least. Despite that, Ubisoft is still trying to make it happen, and it’s one step closer now.

Skull and Bones started development in 2013, and was officially revealed in 2017 for a 2018 release. As you can imagine, given we’re still talking about it, that did not happen. The game was pushed into 2019, then 2020, then 2021, and so on. By our count, there've been at least six public delays for Skull and Bones, and who knows how many internal delays in the 10 years since it was first envisioned.

It’s also been worked on by half a dozen different Ubisoft studios over the years. Its primary developer is Ubisoft Singapore, but it’s also had contributions from Ubisoft studios in Berlin, Kyiv, Paris, the Philippines, and Chengdu — and that’s just the ones we know of. It was supposed to be released for the PS4 and Xbox One, but eventually got shifted to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and will probably end up launching on the PlayStation 7 and the Nintendo Switch 4 at this point.

Nevertheless, perhaps due to an incredible sunk cost at this stage, Ubisoft sails on, determined to get a return on its investment. That’s no more evident than in the game’s upcoming closed beta, which is set to happen next weekend on PC.

According to Ubisoft, players who partake in the closed beta will be able to explore the Red Isale and the Coast of Africa, complete contracts as part of the game’s campaign, and of course participate in naval combat. Players who participate in the closed beta will get a bunch of cosmetics for free when the game eventually launches in 2076, and the beta is technically open to anyone.

To sign up for the Skull and Bones closed beta, simply visit this link to the Ubisoft Insider Program, sign in with your Ubisoft Connect account, and click “register”. After that, it’s just a matter of luck.