After dominating the market for many years now, it seems like Rare’s Sea of Thieves might be in for its first competition from a major developer. During their Ubisoft Forward Spotlight digital event earlier today, Ubisoft confirmed that their open-world pirate multiplayer game “with survival elements”, will be launching on 8 November 2022 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Developed by Ubisoft Singapore with assistance from their Belgrade, Berlin, Blue Byte, Chengdu, Kyiv, Montreal, Paris, Philippines, Pune, Shanghai and Sofia studios; Skull and Bones is a game that pitches itself as “[inviting] players to chart their own destiny and rise from an outcast to becoming a pirate kingpin” through the building of Infamy through “thrilling naval combat and rewarding expeditions in a treacherous world”.
Ubisoft hope that players will be able to experience “the authentic pirate life. From accepting contracts, gathering resources, to navigating important trade routes and attacking wealthy merchant ships, each decision will influence their journey, with varying levels of risk and reward. As they grow their Infamy, players will be able to fully craft and customize their naval fleet and unlock a variety of new items throughout the game”.
Skull and Bones will be based at the end of the 17th Century, the second “Golden Age of Piracy”, and sets the stage for a chaotic and ruthless era of pirates, warring factions, powerful organizations and empires all vying for power in the untamed paradise of the Indian Ocean.
Enjoyable single-player or online multiplayer, players will be able to join two of their friends or players out a sea – with the ability to test their skills via PvP or against other aspiring kingpins, powerful organizations, local factions, or even rival pirates.
According to Ubisoft, they are “building on an ambitious, multi-year post-launch plan, the game will be regularly updated with new content, activities, stories and challenges that will be free for all players”. Whether or how microtransations/DLC will intergrate into the game are not known yet.
