Big changes seem to be in the works for Skull & Bones, the upcoming pirate-inspired open-world game from Ubisoft. According to reports from Video Games Chronicle, the oft-delayed title is undergoing a major overhaul in order to further differentiate it from Ubisoft’s other open-world games, such as The Division and Watchdogs. Skull & Bones has not been seen at a Ubisoft event since E3 2018, where the company teased fans with the prospect of an open beta that has yet to materialize. While rumors of the game’s “reboot” remain unconfirmed at this time, the title’s absence from yesterday’s Ubisoft Forward event seems to suggest that something is up.
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This latest rumor also suggests that the “rebooted” version of Skull & Bones will feature a world that will change over time based on the actions of the game’s players. This model has been used to great success with Fortnite, where the game’s map and storyline have both significantly evolved over the last few years. Skull & Bones will also apparently focus less on competition and more on collaboration between players. There’s certainly a lot of interesting ways that this could be implemented in a game focused on pirates!
Skull & Bones was inspired by the development of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The Assassin’s Creed franchise’s nature leads to some wildly different themes, and the developers often have a number of ideas that can’t make it into the final product. Ubisoft has a tendency to recycle those ideas for use in wholly different games, such as the upcoming Gods & Monsters, which was inspired by Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Notably, Gods & Monsters has also seen a significant number of delays, having previously been scheduled for release back in February.
While these rumors are to be taken with a grain of salt, it should be noted that this is not the first time that rumors have suggested the game had seen a major shift in focus. Back in February, rumors circulated that the game still requires a significant amount of development time, and won’t see release until the next fiscal year, at the earliest.
As of this writing, Skull & Bones is set to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Readers can find all of our previous coverage of the game right here.
Are you looking forward to Skull & Bones? What do you think of the most recent rumors surrounding the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!
