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Skull and Bones gets lost at sea, delayed yet again

Skull and Bones gets lost at sea, delayed yet again

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*Fozzie Bear voice* Why do they call it Skull and Bones? Because that’s all that’ll be left by the time the game launches! Wocka wocka.

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Promotional artwork for Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones featuring an image of a ship’s navigation wheel adorned with the skull of a deep sea creature with the words “Skull and Bones, an Ubisoft Original” overhead
Image: Ubisoft

Skull and Bones is quickly becoming the Duke Nukem of the ‘20s as Ubisoft has announced, in response to poor overall sales and an economic downturn, that it is yet again postponing the pirate simulator.

In a press release and subsequent investor call, Ubisoft said it was “surprised” that Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023 underperformed. As a result, Ubisoft said it would push the release of Skull and Bones to 2024.

Delays and Skull and Bones are becoming synonymous with the game being pushed back almost every year since 2018. This latest delay, the game’s fifth overall, will put Skull and Bones — that, according to Kotaku, started in 2013 as Assassin’s Creed DLC — in its 11th year of development. Ironically, Skull and Bones isn’t Ubisoft’s only game stuck firmly in development hell, as we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of Beyond Good and Evil 2, which was announced way, way back in 2008. Oof.

In addition to Skull and Bones news, the Ubisoft press release also shared that it will cancel three more unannounced projects to join the four that were canceled last year. However, the company did say that the 2023–2024 fiscal year would see the release of the next Assassin’s Creed, the new Avatar game, and other “yet-to-be-announced premium games, including a large one.”

Whether that “large one” actually sees the light of day is anybody’s guess.