Ubisoft Has Year 2 Plans for Its AAAA Game Skull and Bones

Ye might find it hard to believe, mates, given the game's grim performance and its swift sinking to the murky depths of obscurity, but it appears Skull and Bones will still be sailing in 2025, with Ubisoft reportedly having Year 2 content in store for its calamitous AAAA game.

Shipped in February 2024, Skull and Bones set sail with promises of delivering the ultimate pirate adventure, with epic ships, thrilling naval battles, booty aplenty, and overall a more expansive experience than typical AAA titles, thus earning Ubisoft's label as a "quadruple-A game." Unfortunately for its creators, the title fell far short of expectations and was largely forgotten both by the players, who rated the game 3.1/10, and Ubisoft itself, which gave little acknowledgment to Skull and Bones in its financial reports or official statements, despite allegedly spending up to $850 million on its production.

At present, the total sales figures for the game have not been disclosed, however, data from SteamDB indicates that it has been struggling to surpass 200 peak concurrent players on Steam in recent days – a performance even worse than that of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, a game Ubisoft execs view as such a shortfall, they recently disbanded the team that worked on it, reassigning Ubisoft Montpellier devs to other projects.

According to a new report from Insider Gaming, however, the team is preparing to turn the tide and improve the game in the coming year, with Year 2 Season 1 expected to launch early next year, introducing novel PvP game modes, more points of interest on the map, new world tiers, and more.

As revealed by anonymous sources to IG, Ubisoft is also exploring the possibility of premium crossover events, with one proposal reportedly involving a Black Flag crossover event coinciding with the release of the rumored Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake.

Additionally, the sources stated that the studio remains fully committed to supporting the game and hinted that its player numbers "might surprise people" in 2025. So far, Ubisoft has not provided an official confirmation, so, as is always the case with anonymous reports, take this information with a grain of sea salt.

Speaking of Black Flag, it was recently reported that Ubisoft plans to release nine Assassin's Creed games over the next five years, including four confirmed titles and five rumored ones. Along with planned updates for Skull and Bones, Assassin's Creed Infinity, and possibly other games the studio has in the works, the question of whether they have the capacity to manage all these projects at once becomes even more pressing, especially considering Ubisoft's current state.

So, what's your take on Ubisoft's plans for S&B? Would it help them to revitalize the game and perform a No Man's Sky-style miracle? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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