This is the most significant sign of a pulse since 2020 for the Ubisoft title, which popped up in 2017 with the promise of players sailing the seven seas and indulging in some salty naval combat, before disappearing below the waves for half a decade. After its reveal, Ubisoft let press members go hands-on with it back in 2018, but after that things started shifting around quite a bit over at the studio. In a 2020 update, we heard the game had a new vision and was aiming for a 2022 release date. 

Now, however, the tides have turned, and we’ve got a ton of new information about the mysterious and highly anticipated Skull and Bones. We’ve seen gameplay, spoken to the game director, and had a hands-off preview, and we can confidently say we’ve got all the information you’re looking for about Skull and Bones. Read on for more. 

Skull and Bones release date

Before we had a release date, we had rumors. It was revealed during a Ubisoft financial update with investors that the game would be due out sometime in the next year or so. “Skull and Bones will now be released in 2022-23,” it said in its earnings report – but for a while, there was no more information regarding a more specific release window.

Then, a Skull and Bones release date was leaked by a Twitter account just a few days before the worldwide reveal event, and it turns out this leak, in particular, was correct. Skull and Bones is set to release on November 8, 2022. Yes, that is one day before the highly anticipated God of War Ragnarok, so it’ll be interesting to see how both games fare. 

Skull and Bones trailer 

The latest trailer dropped on the same day as the worldwide gameplay reveal, and it will pull you in from the moment it starts. Promising to let you “chart a new course”, the trailer follows an unnamed character as they decide to try out the pirate life, become marooned on an island, and build their own ship to sail safely out of there. It cuts to other pirates in various stages of cool, swashbuckling garb before showing off some epic naval combat. 

Skull and Bones Insider Program

Back before we had a Skull and Bones release date or any idea what the gameplay looked like, we had the promise of the Insider Program, which was announced back in March 2022. After the July reveal event, we have a few more details on that what the program will entail.

We are kicking off our Insider Program, a unique opportunity for a selected few to test early versions of Skull and Bones & share feedback. Apply now if you think you have what it takes!March 9, 2022

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According to Ubisoft, the Insider Program is an “ongoing live testing initiative for which we’re inviting carefully selected players to play an early version of our game in real conditions before anyone else. Meaning for the very first time, members of our Insider Program get to play Skull and Bones and get a sneak peek at the work our development team has been doing behind the scenes.” According to the studio, the testing team will remain “relatively small” but if you’re interested you can sign up for the Skull and Bones Insider Program here (opens in new tab).

Skull and Bones 2021 update

We know that Skull and Bones will focus heavily on naval combat thanks to its roots lying in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. While working on our five key Skull and Bones questions answered, we spoke with game director Ryan Barnard, who gave us even more details beyond the July gameplay reveal. 

“The team developed their expertise in Naval Combat through their co-development work so we decided to capitalize on that to create a totally new world – the world of Skull and Bones,” Barnard says game director Ryan Barnard. “Since I joined, my focus has been about taking the creative vision to life.” His focus has been on adding  “depth to the naval combat,” the progression system, enemy factions, and crafting. 

Skull and Bones was initially billed as a game that would be made up of two main pillars: a single-player campaign where you play a fully customizable pirate and multiplayer 5v5 tactical naval combat. According to Barnard, the current iteration of Skull and Bones is not a “classic narrative-driven game” but a live game that Ubisoft is committed to working on far into the future. So, should you play it solo? “We want players to have advantages when they group up and pirate together. You can definitely play alone, but part of the risk in our world is that, if you are the lone wolf, you could potentially become prey for other players,” Barnard says. 

Solo play will include leveling up your ship, taking on pirate emissions, and battling on the high seas. It seems like ship customization will be very broad, so expect to see a variety of different vessels on the horizon.

Skull and Bones development issues

The co-director of the game, Antoine Henry, left Ubisoft after 15 years in January 2022, which many worried had to do with Skull and Bones’ development issues. In July 2021 a report from Kotaku (opens in new tab) offered insight into issues behind the scenes that have caused the development process to drag on so long.

The article, which included input from current and former developers on Skull and Bones, reveals constant changes to the game’s direction – like switching between naval combat and survival as the core concepts – and culture clashes on the development team. Three different sources put the cost of Skull and Bones at more than $120 million, and it’s not even finished yet.

In response, Ubisoft put out a statement updating Kotaku on the game’s progress and recent Alpha production milestone. 

“The Skull and Bones team are proud of the work they’ve accomplished on the project since their last update with production just passing Alpha, and are excited to share more details when the time is right. That being said, any unfounded speculation about the game or decisions being made only works to demoralize the team who are working very hard to develop an ambitious new franchise that lives up to the expectations of our players.

Over the past year, we’ve made significant changes to our policies and processes to create a safe and more inclusive workplace and empower our teams to create games that reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”

During the Ubisoft 2020-21 earnings call, chief financial officer Frédérick Duguet had this to say about the game. 

“We strongly believe in the team’s creative vision and they have been given an increasingly ambitious mandate for the game,”

“Production led by Singapore has been advancing well over the past 12 months and the promise is better than ever. The additional time will allow the team to fully deliver on its vision.”

Skull and Bones customization

There are loads of ways to customise your ship in Skull and Bones, and it seems that different set-ups will be useful for different scenarios. We see the ability to change sails, weapon set-ups, and figureheads in the demo, but expect there to be loads more options in the final game.

You’ll need to adapt because the conditions of the game will change according to the predictions of a fortune teller. Yes. You’re given an outlook for each session and will have to change your play accordingly – so, for example, high winds mean that there are more merchant ships to plunder, but greater competition for them. Not sure how that correlates, but it’s all in the demo. She’ll also advise on weather and trade routes too.

It’s worth noting that you can also hop off your ship and look around your own private island. Expect there to be plenty of distractions here too.

Why not jump into the best RPGs while you wait for Skull and Bones to drop?

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Over the course of a new 10-tweet thread yesterday on September 15, reputable Call of Duty and Battlefield leaker Tom Henderson claimed to know a number of details relating to Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones. Hendersons claims that there are five different tiers of ships in the pirate adventure game, divided into three different categories for the type of journey you’ll be embarking on, and you unlock new ships via blueprints.

In #SkullAndBones, there are 5 tiers of ships (small, medium, large etc.) and are categorized into three different categories. Cargo, Combat, and Exploration.Unlocking different ships are tied to blueprints, which you can buy at different settlements. pic.twitter.com/TUf3mZIHddSeptember 15, 2021

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Hendersons claims a number of other details about Skull and Bones throughout the extensive thread, such as smaller ships being able to outmaneuver larger ships and venture into new locations. Every ship also has a predetermined amount of cannons, Henderson claims, but you can install other weaponry on your ships like mortars, ballistas, and more.

This is the first new information we’ve heard of the gameplay for Skull and Bones in quite some time, although it goes without saying that none of this information is official, nor has it been confirmed by Ubisoft. Until then, take this information from Henderson with a pinch of salt.

Just earlier this month, Ubisoft revealed that Skull and Bones is now targeting release window at some point during or after 2022. The pirate game was announced all the way back in 2017, and is now reportedly costing upwards of $120 million to ship. Ubisoft Singapore, now in charge of development of Skull and Bones, is claiming to have a “new vision” for the game, but it’s one that we’ll have to wait a fair while to see for ourselves.

For a look at all the games set to launch before Skull and Bones, head over to our new games 2021 guide for more.

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The news came in a post on Ubisoft’s official website (opens in new tab), where Pellen stated that Skull and Bones (opens in new tab) won’t be making an appearance during the Ubisoft Forward showcase (opens in new tab), which is happening later today on September 10. While we won’t be seeing any swashbuckling ship sinking just yet, Ubisoft has confirmed it plans to present Skull and Bones “sometime in future”, with the assurance that “it will be worth the wait.” 

The post also addresses why the launch of the game had to be postponed, citing that the development team “simply needed more time”. 

“We dreamt something bigger for Skull & Bones, and these ambitions naturally came with bigger challenges. These difficulties resulted in necessary delays for our game. Critical questions needed to be addressed over the past several months such as: how do we modernize the classic pirate fantasy? How do we ensure a more immersive and visceral experience? How do we create cool and memorable moments in-game? For most of these questions to be answered, it was clear that we needed more development time.” 

The reboot was first announced back in 2017 during E3, and recently updates about the game have been relatively quiet, with the exception of news that emerged (opens in new tab) suggesting that Skull and Bones is reportedly going in a new direction that’s more akin to a blend of Fortnite (opens in new tab) and Sea of Thieves (opens in new tab). 

While this still hasn’t been confirmed, this latest update about the game’s development does state that it has “evolved from its original idea to what it is now,” with new team members joining the project to bring the game to life. What that will shape up to be remains to be seen, but with its delay, it’s looking more and more likely that we’ll see it end up on the next-gen Xbox Series X (opens in new tab) and PS5 (opens in new tab) as well as current-gen consoles. 

“We’re proud of the work we’ve done and we hope you will be too when you see more of Skull and Bones at our comeback next,” Pellen writes. “Until then, on behalf of everyone in the Skull and Bones team around the world, keep safe and we will see again soon!” 

See all of the latest releases on the horizons with our list of upcoming games 2020 (opens in new tab). 

The post Skull and Bones production is in “full swing with a new vision”, Ubisoft confirms appeared first on Game News.

• Xbox E3 2019 (opens in new tab) Recap: Best of Microsoft Xbox at E3 2019
• Nintendo E3 2019 (opens in new tab) Recap: Best of Nintendo at E3 2019 
• Bethesda E3 2019 (opens in new tab) Recap: Best of Bethesda at E3 2019
• Ubisoft E3 2019 (opens in new tab) Recap: Best of Ubisoft at E3 2019
• Square Enix E3 2019 (opens in new tab) Recap: Best of Square Enix at E3 2019
• EA E3 2019 (opens in new tab) Recap: Best of EA at E3 2019
• Sony E3 2019 Recap (opens in new tab): Why Sony skipped E3 2019

The Elder Scrolls 6 

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA

Elder Scrolls 6 (opens in new tab) is still a long, long way off by the sound of things, and we already knew it wouldn’t be at E3 2019 (though Todd Howard did dare to speak its name during the Bethesda E3 2019 show). Given how little we have to go on at the moment, it’s very likely that Elder Scrolls 6 will arrive on the next generation of consoles ushered in by the PS5 (opens in new tab) and Xbox Project Scarlett (opens in new tab), so it’s totally understandable that it’d have nothing to show at E3 2019. Still, that doesn’t make the waiting any easier, especially considering we won’t be getting it until after the launch of the equally mysterious Starfield. 

Gears Tactics

Platform(s): PC
Release date: TBA 

At E3 2018, Microsoft pushed the Gears of War franchise harder than it has ever done in the past. Alongside the reveal of Gears 5 and Gears Pop! it also showed pre-alpha footage of Gears Tactics in action. The game, set to be a real-time strategy game for PC looked pretty awesome but it was sadly absent from Microsoft’s E3 2019 briefing. Microsoft has since confirmed that Gears Tactics is still in development in an effort to quell fears that the game had been cancelled – it hasn’t been seen for a year after all – but provided no further clarification as to when the upcoming game would come back into the public eye. 

Death Stranding 

Platform(s): PS4
Release date: November 8, 2019

Sony E3 2019 was an underwhelming affair because, well, PlayStation wasn’t there. Thankfully, Death Stranding (opens in new tab) went big in the weeks leading up to E3 2019. Hideo Kojima got to throw fans a bone with a huge new Death Stranding trailer (opens in new tab) two weeks before E3, but its absence was felt at this year’s show after it featured so prominently since its big debut at E3 2016. The good news is that the Death Stranding release date (opens in new tab) is locked in for later this year, so Kojima fans won’t have to wait long to see the game in full. The bad news is that we have no idea when we’ll get to hear about those other PlayStation exclusives, as Sony continues work on the PS5 lineup behind the scenes. 

Metroid Prime 4 

Platform(s): Switch
Release date: TBA

All it took for Nintendo to make people’s heads explode at E3 2017 was a logo reveal for Metroid Prime 4 (opens in new tab), confirming that a new game in the sci-fi FPS series starring Samus Aran is in development. But this past January, Nintendo delivered the bad news that the game needed to be delayed and rebooted (opens in new tab) after it was failing to meet internal standards. On the upside, Metroid Prime 4 is now being developed by Retro Studios, which made the original Metroid Prime trilogy, though the team is still looking to fill some key roles (opens in new tab). With Retro Studios needing to restart everything from scratch, there was no way Metroid Prime 4 could ever be ready to be shown at E3 2019. 

Starfield

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA

Bethesda had a fairly strong showing at E3 2019, but many of us were left disappointed by the lack of Starfield (opens in new tab) and The Elder Scrolls 6 information. Todd Howard gave both titles a passing mention in the Bethesda E3 2019 conference, confirming that development was moving forward, but failed to share any further details. This isn’t a huge surprise, the studio told us the pair of games wouldn’t be at E3 ahead of the show starting, but that didn’t stop any of us from hoping that we were being lied to. Here’s hoping that we get more info on Bethesda’s ambitious sci-fi game before the year’s end. 

Beyond Good and Evil 2 

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA

Beyond Good and Evil 2 (opens in new tab) went from leaked trailer vaporware (remember Jade parkouring around that nondescript city?) to an actual, in-development project in 2017, but it’s still tough to get a bead on Ubisoft’s plans for the game. Case in point: a Beyond Good & Evil 2 stream that took place the week before E3 2019. Most companies would use that kind of time slot to get out ahead of the publicity blowout and share some big news about their projects. Beyond Good and Evil 2 used that time to show us to concept art of animal-human hybrids dying and some pot-smoking rhinos (opens in new tab). Once that stream was over, it was pretty clear that Ubisoft had no big intentions for Beyond Good and Evil 2 at E3 2019. Maybe it will kick back into gear once the new console generation begins? 

Bayonetta 3 

Platform(s): Switch
Release date: TBA 

It’s a miracle Bayonetta 3 (opens in new tab) is in development at all given the rocky road Bayonetta 2 faced, but Platinum Games says the sequel is coming along well despite skipping E3 2019. In an interview with NintendoLife (opens in new tab), studio head Atsushi Inaba said: “Things are going well and I know a lot of people are asking for it. Giving updates for everything at E3 isn’t the smartest PR strategy to begin with. So just because we’re not showing it here, doesn’t mean it’s not going well.” He also assured concerned players that “it’s going to be a high-quality title and we’re putting our all into it,” which is precisely why the studio’s staying silent for now. Bayonetta was great and Bayonetta 2 was phenomenal, so there’s little doubt Bayonetta 3 will be worth the wait. In the meantime, Switch owners have Platinum’s Astral Chain coming this August.  

The Last of Us: Part 2

Platform(s): PS4
Release date: TBA 

We are desperate for more information on The Last of Us: Part 2 (opens in new tab). Naughty Dog has been hard at work on the highly anticipated sequel for years now and many had hoped that Sony would give The Last of Us: Part 2 the State of Play treatment during the week of E3 in an effort to pull some attention away from Microsoft and its slew of announcements. Sadly, that didn’t come to be. The time will soon be upon us, however, for more details to be revealed; questions regarding its supposed 2019 release date are starting to be asked, as too are questions over whether it will be a PS4 game or positioned as a PS5 launch title. 

Session 

Platform(s): Xbox One, PC
Release date: Late 2019

In our timeline where EA vehemently refuses to confirm Skate 4 (opens in new tab), Microsoft used that absence to its advantage by channeling all that skateboarding game hype into Session (opens in new tab) with an impressive trailer the Xbox E3 2018 press conference. This 3D skating game has a similar emphasis on lifelike tricks, and looks great despite being made on a Kickstarter budget rather than EA’s deep pockets. But as developer Vincent Da Silva posted in a Kickstarter update (opens in new tab) near the end of May, the team decided to skip E3 to keep plugging away on the game. “With early access getting closer every day, we knew it would have an impact on the development,” said Silva, “so we decided to stay focused on developing Session instead.”  

Skull and Bones 

Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: TBA

Here’s another no-show we knew about ahead of time, but anyone who didn’t hear the news about the latest Skull and Bones delay (opens in new tab) might’ve been thrown when it didn’t show up in the Ubisoft E3 2019 show. The multiplayer ship-vs-ship battles between pirates and naval officers in Skull and Bones (opens in new tab) need more time in the dock, with producer Karl Luhe saying “We will be back as soon as we can with exciting new updates.” Until then, the earliest you can expect to play Skull and Bones is April 2020, as the recent Ubisoft earnings call placed its release date sometime in the 2020/2021 fiscal year.

Need For Speed

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA 

EA had a pretty light showing at E3 2019. While we knew we were never going to get the Skate 4 we’ve all been dreaming of for a decade, we were hoping to get a sneak peak at the new Need for Speed (opens in new tab) game that’s in development. Criterion has since confirmed that the new entry to the long-running series is happening and, amazingly, will be launching later this year. Details are thin on the ground, but it sounds as if Criterion opted to skip E3 2019 to continue working on the game. Stay tuned, basically! Need for Speed is coming back and we truly do hope that the studio is able to get it back into the right lane after a divisive few entries. 

Nioh 2

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA 

Here’s the thing, Nioh 2 is technically – technically – a PS4 console-exclusive, which meant developer Team Ninja opted to follow suit with Sony and skip out on showing its latest samurai action game off at E3 2019. Revealed at last year’s Sony E3 conference, the game seems to be moving through development nicely. In fact, word out of the recent Nioh 2 closed alpha (opens in new tab) were positive enough and a good sign that the game is still on the right path. Nothing to worry about here, it’s business as usual over at Team Ninja even if we were a little disappointed we didn’t get to see a new Nioh 2 trailer. 

Age of Empires 4 

Platform(s): PC
Release date: TBA

RTS fans have been dying for news on Age of Empires 4 (opens in new tab), a new entry in the legendary strategy series featuring a wide range of civilizations and time periods of war. It’s being developed by Relic Entertainment, the same studio behind beloved RTS series like Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. In an interview with PC Gamer (opens in new tab), Xbox boss Phil Spencer explained why we didn’t get to see Age of Empires 4 during the Xbox E3 2019 show. “We’ll talk about it more this year,” he said, adding “Relic’s great as a studio, [and] we’re making good progress with it.” To tide Age of Empires fans over, Microsoft is launching Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition later this year, which remasters the 1999 original with 4K-ready visuals and a new campaign called The Last Khans. 

In The Valley of Gods 

Platform(s): PC
Release date: TBA

Firewatch (opens in new tab) was a humdinger of a debut game for Campo Santo: it was evocative, funny, and expertly subverted expectations. In The Valley of Gods (opens in new tab) looked like a fantastic follow-up when it was announced in 2017. Then Valve bought Campo Santo (opens in new tab) and all expectations of a normal development schedule dissolved into the quantic phenomenon known as Valve time. The developers formerly known as Campo Santo announced the acquisition with assurances that In The Valley of Gods was still their top priority, and I don’t doubt that’s still the case. But with how long it’s been since we’ve heard anything new about the game, it’s hard not to imagine them all just wheeling their desks over to this project for a few weeks, then that project for a few weeks… until it’s E3 2019 and we still barely know anything about it. 

Dragon Age 4

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA 

Back in December 2018, BioWare revealed that Dragon Age 4 (opens in new tab) – as we’ve taken to calling it, in lieu of an official name – was a real game that was definitely in development. Then Anthem happened and, well, you know the rest. While it was reported that the Anthem creative leads had moved to working on Dragon Age 4 full time (opens in new tab), and that BioWare was pushing for Dragon Age 4 live-service elements (opens in new tab) internally, it also sounds like development has been tricky. BioWare is still very early in production, which made its absense from E3 2019 expected but no less disappointing. 

Fable 4

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA 

What happened Microsoft? The fact that Playground Games is working on Fable 4 (opens in new tab) is practically an open secret in the wider games industry now, thanks in no small part to numerous Fable 4 leaks (opens in new tab) and clear signs that the studio is working on a third-person open-world adventure game. Playground was purchased by Microsoft last year and so it looked as if the stars were aligning to give us the reveal we’ve spent so many years waiting for. Sadly, the Xbox E3 2019 conference came and went without ever a mention of the legendary Xbox franchise. It is yet to be confirmed that this game exists, but we are now holding out hope for the Xbox fan event this November, XO19, which is being held in London, could be where Fable 4 is finally shown to the world. 

Rocksteady’s new game

Platform(s): TBA
Release date: TBA 

Rocksteady, what are you doing to us? The studio behind the critically acclaimed Batman Arkham series of games has been suspiciously quiet since it release Batman Arkham VR back in 2016, sadly it skipped E3 for the second year in a row. Aware that fans would be disappointed, Rocksteady’s co-founder Sefton Hill clarified that the upcoming mystery game wouldn’t be at E3 2019 (opens in new tab) to continue work on its next big project. It means we are still no closer to knowing what Rocksteady is working on, outside of the knowledge that it will 100% not be a Superman game (opens in new tab). Here’s hoping we aren’t made to wait for a year to see what the team is working on. 

Ghost of Tsushima

Platform(s): PS4
Release date: TBA 

It’s been a long time since we last received an update on Ghost of Tsushima (opens in new tab). The upcoming open-world samurai game from developer Sucker Punch, set to let you explore 13th century Japan as you battle back against Mongol invaders, has long been one of our most anticipated PS4 games. Sadly, the game was forced to bow out of E3 2019 when Sony made the decision to skip the annual event entirely. That means we’ll be waiting a little longer to find out whether rumours of Ghost of Tsushima slipping to 2020 (opens in new tab) are true, and to see whether it’s still set to launch on PS4 or whether it’ll end up as a PS5 launch title.

For a look at a long-awaited game that was at the show, check out our E3 2019 preview of Marvel’s Avengers (opens in new tab):

The post The missing games of E3 2019 appeared first on Game News.

With the delay, the earliest we would possibly be taking the wheel of our very own ship will be April 2020, as Ubisoft confirmed that the game won’t launch until the 2020/2021 fiscal year (but didn’t provide any definitive release date). A video posted to Skull & Bones’ official Twitter hopes to stem the tide on any disappoints as Ubisoft continues to work on the game. “Rest assured that we are working as hard to ever to make sure the game is going to be as great as possible, and quality remains our number one focus,” says producer Karl Luhe. “We will be back as soon as we can with exciting new updates.” 

We’re going to batten down the hatches and push back on the game’s arrival—this is a challenging news for us all, but it’s what’s needed to make Skull & Bones as awesome as it can be!Our focus remains on quality first and we’re grateful for your undying support ☠️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/ZCt85tY3TGMay 15, 2019

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If you need a refresher, Skull & Bones is essentially the time-honored sailing sections of the Assassin’s Creed series broken out into their own multiplayer game, where players control entire ships as the captain and must work together to plunder booty or rid the seas of enemy pirates. After its debut at E3 2017, Skull & Bones was hit with its first big delay (opens in new tab) in Ubisoft’s 2018 financial report, so this delay is a bit of deja vu. What we saw of Skull & Bones at E3 2018 (opens in new tab) looked promising, but for now, it seems like Sea of Thieves (opens in new tab) will still be your go-to for high-seas adventure in the foreseeable future, with Rare’s game really coming into its own as it enters its second year of updates (opens in new tab). 

As for what we can expect from Ubisoft at E3 2019, Watch Dogs 3 (opens in new tab) is almost a sure bet, and we’re hoping the rumored London setting leads to some bold creative decisions (opens in new tab). You likely won’t be seeing anything Splinter Cell-related; just yesterday, there was a bit of social media kerfuffle when an Ubisoft developer jokingly teased a new Splinter Cell game (opens in new tab), much to the publisher’s dismay.

See what’s happening this week in games and entertainment with our latest Release Radar:

The post Skull & Bones broadsided with another delay, and wont be at E3 2019 appeared first on Game News.