Skull And Bones Delayed Again As Ubisoft Cancels Three More Unannounced Titles

Just when we thought that we we’ll finally be able to set sail in Skull and Bones in a few months’ time, Ubisoft has gone ahead and postponed its launch again. This marks the sixth time that the highly awaited pirate MMORPG’s release has been delayed in as many years.

Skull and Bones was first announced at gameplay preview videos. Alas, it looks like it’s going to be yet another long wait as the French publisher pushes back its release to “early 2023-24” with a beta test planned presumably within the next few months.

“Players will be able to discover the beauty of Skull and Bones in the beta phase,” wrote Ubisoft in a recent investor press release. “The additional time has already paid off and brought impressive improvements to its quality, which has been confirmed by recent playtests. We believe players will be positively surprised by its evolution. We have decided to postpone its release in order to have more time to showcase a much more polished and balanced experience and to build awareness. Skull and Bones will now be released early 2023-24.”

The delay may also have something to do with the company’s poor performance over the past year. According to the press release, its been a particularly slow period for the company as players flock to multi-platform “mega-brands” and long-established games.

“The company is facing major challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-lasting titles than can reach players across the globe, across platforms and business models,” said the French publisher. “Our strategy over the past 4 years has been about building long-lasting live games and adapting our strongest franchises […] to these converging trends to make them truly global brands. However, the games from this investment phase have yet to be released, while our recent launches have not performed as well as expected.”

In light of those challenges, the French publisher has adjusted its financial targets for the year and is significantly cutting back on its spending. This has subsequently resulted in the cancellation of three unannounced projects, on top of the four that were cancelled last summer. All things considered, it looks like Skull and Bones got off pretty lightly.