Skull & Bones’ troubles continue as the game is delayed… again

Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones’ seemingly never-ending limbo has been extended yet again. This information comes courtesy of Ubisoft’s latest earnings briefing.

Ubisoft’s eternally upcoming multiplayer swashbuckler Skull & Bones may just be the reference point for ‘Development Hell’. Earlier in the year, we reported on the game’s seventh delay.

The game began development a decade ago as a direct response to the success of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. It promised a multiplayer experience based on the incredibly popular ship combat of Ubisoft’s take on the golden age of piracy.

Since its announcement in 2013, Skull & Bones has undergone significant changes and multiple delays. Unfortunately for anyone still waiting, Ubisoft’s most recent earnings report has confirmed another pushback to the company’s “Q4 2023-24”.

This places the new release period for Skull & Bones between January and March 2024. What’s insane about this is how close the game has come to release before.

The launch of Skull & Bones seemed imminent when it was given a solid release date of November 8, 2022, only to be pushed back less than a month before to March 9, 2023.

The game was then given a foggier release window of “early” in Ubisoft’s 2023-24, then mid, now late. Since then, Skull & Bones has had a gameplay reveal and closed beta.

It’s unknown whether this latest delay is the result of players’ criticisms during the closed beta. It’s possible Ubisoft may need more time to correct Skull & Bones based on this feedback.

Amidst the announcement of this delay for Skull & Bones, Ubisoft also mentioned moving back “another large game” but stopped short of saying what it would be. It appears to be the game Ubisoft teased in previous reports as being on the level of an “Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry”.

If you want to follow the saga of Ubisoft’s floundering pirate combat title, Check out our previous coverage of Skull & Bones.