The CEO of Ubisoft calls Skull and Bones a “quadruple-A” game, defending it’s $70 price tag in addition to live service elements.
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Co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot took part in the Ubisoft Q3 FY2024 presentation and subsequent Q&A. This meeting also came after publication of details for Skull and Bones, including it’s then-upcoming open beta and one year roadmap.
This also includes costing $70, while having a battle pass, seasonal events, and premium currency like a typically free-to-play live service game. The $90 premium edition features a Smuggler’s Token which “Unlocks a premium battle pass and additional content.Usable when new seasons release.”
At this time of writing, the game is $69.99 on Amazon and Xbox, but $59.99 via Ubisoft’s own store with pre-order bonuses.
During the investor Q&A (as reported by VGC and PC Gamer), one caller asked why Ubisoft wanted to charge $70, feeling it “could presumably limit the size of the player base.” They also suggested going free-to-play would suit the live-service elements, and make fostering a community more likely.
Guillemot defended the price point due to the game’s quality. “You will see that Skull and Bones is a full-fledged game. It’s a very big game and we feel that people will really see how vast and complete that game is. So it’s a really full triple-A… Quadruple-A game that will deliver in the long run.”
The exact cadence of the quote depends on the outlet reporting it — the pause between triple and quadruple-A suggesting either an off-the-cuff exaggeration, or a brief moment of consideration whether the term is justified.
If triple-A suggests the highest quality and value for money, then quadruple-A must logically exceed that. A truly perfect game, if you will. However, previews from the open beta fail to match that.
Recurring complaints included how the game’s development issues made the game less cohesive, ships lacking any sense of weight in handling (albeit, a compliment in some cases), and generally feeling dated. The game also suffers when compared to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Sea of Thieves.
PC Gamer’s Tyler Wilde stated in his open beta impressions that he felt far too underleveled to enjoy the PVP elements, and no one wanted to team up with him either.
“So far, I just feel a renewed desire for the simple but thrilling adventures and mishaps of Sea of Thieves, which emphasizes simulation and player agency (aka the freedom of an individual to cause massive problems for everyone else) over the structured progression of Skull and Bones, where I’m running routine quests to unlock ship and weapon blueprints and collect the materials to build them,” he wrote.
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While Kotaku Austalia’s David Smith felt sailing handled as it did in Assassin’s Creed IV, but was also dated in some aspects due to it (such as tapping A to haul up flotsam and salvage as you sail past it). Gameplay was also similar to other open-world Ubisoft games- none of which were quadruple-A titles- but with MMO elements.
“Based on what I’ve seen here, will Skull and Bones pull me away from Sea of Thieves for long? Probably not. But they are very different games,” Smith admits. He later adds that Skull and Bones may offer the PVE elements that Sea of Thieves players have wanted for a long time.
Franz Christian Irorita of Clutchpoint felt that Ubisoft had actually tried to avoid players comparing Skull and Bones to Assassin’s Creed IV; but to the point of missing elements that made that game fun. “There’s no swashbuckling, no crew management, a very shallow trading economy, no capturing of enemy ships or managing a fleet.”
Players can’t even walk around the deck of the ship they have built, he noted. The focus on the ship rather than the captain and crew also means creating a character is pointless. “In many ways, the main character is a representation of the game itself – devoid of personality and is just a vehicle for microtransactions.”
Irorita was frustrated by a lack of risk. “You can’t get marooned, you can’t get captured, you can’t get imprisoned. The game has no stakes, no direction, and no personality. Heck, playing Skull and Bones made me miss Sid Meier’s Pirates!, a game that came out twenty years ago.”
Further, Irorita loathed the live service elements, and needing to always share the world with other players who have harvested islands bare for quests, or get involved with naval battles at the last moments for an unfair share of loot. The more impressive battles against legendary ships and sea monsters also require the help of other players.
“Skull and Bones will need a lot of work before it stands toe to toe with Black Flag, Sea of Thieves, and even Sid Meier’s Pirates! But for what it’s worth, Ubisoft has proven itself to be capable of delivering satisfying post-launch content in such a way that years later, their games become unrecognizable, in a good way.” Irorita then book-ended this compliment with the fear that “it just makes more business sense to release the game and move on.”
Skull and Bones has had a rough development, and if it became a successful triple-A title it would be impressive — let alone quadruple-A. Reportedly starting in 2013 as a multiplayer expansion for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, then an MMO, then an original project, announced in 2017, and subsequently delayed three times.
Development was then allegedly rebooted to focus on the “live storytelling” seen in titles such as Fortnite, where the game’s world changes with updates.
Kotaku reported (via three sources) that Ubisoft were obligated to launch the game, as they had already received generous subsidies from the Singapore government (in exchange for launching new IPs, and hiring enough people). When pressed on this topic by IGN, Ubisoft declined to comment.
The game was then delayed three more times, before it’s final February 16th release date.
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