In a recent Ubisoft earning's call, the long-slumbering Skull & Bones game appeared under the heading “New IP creation with a focus on long term player engagement”. That same document also confirmed the upcoming additional year of content for Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

Skull & Bones: From expansion to full spin-off

However, Kotaku also recently released an inside look at Skull & Bones. There, they detailed the struggles of Ubisoft Singapore with regard to the game. Skull & Bones began development in 2013. Originally, it was billed as a multiplayer expansion to Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Eventually, it became its own separate spin-off game, focusing on pirate themes and a multiplayer experience. Ubisoft revealed Skull & Bones at E3 2017 with a cinematic trailer and hands-on demo.

Ubisoft Singapore's 8-year struggle

The game has been delayed four times now – with the current release window being “before March 2023”. Kotaku's inside look quoted one former developer, saying: “Just having people working for four or five years on something that doesn’t move forward, that destroys anyone.”

They also state that “Skull & Bones never had a clear creative vision behind it, suffered from too many managers vying for power, and was plagued by almost annual reboots and mini-refreshes.” Apparently, the game has already cost Ubisoft $120 million, way above its initial budget. Other Ubisoft studios have also reportedly started helping to finish the game without any further delays.

Additionally, several sources have also apparently confirmed a deal between Ubisoft and the Singaporean government. This requires them to launch original new IPs from the Singapore studio in exchange for generous subsidies. This deal also includes certain hiring requirements.

Skull & Bones seems to have suffered similarly to BioWare's ill-fated multiplayer shooter, Anthem. A lack of clear vision, management shake-ups, and overall mismanagement. Alongside this is a reportedly toxic work culture that has caused an exodus in the studio's teams: “The toxic culture permeating the Singapore studio is in no small part responsible for most of the production issues—reboots, rebrands, and re-reboots—that have plagued Skull & Bones for a decade,” one former developer said.

Ubisoft's Response

However, Ubisoft responded to Kotaku with the following statement:

“The Skull & 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.”

Well, at least we know that it's in Alpha now, I guess?