After turbulent development and multiple delays, Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones could be gearing up for release next November.
Twitter user Alumia_Italia claims to have found details about the game’s release in an Xbox Store listing, eurogamer reports. Per the tweet, the listing makes mention of a pre-order bonus, additional missions, a “Smuggler Pass Token”, a digital soundtrack and art book, and a premium bonus pack. More importantly, also includes a possible release date (opens in new tab): November 8, 2022.
Skull & Bones’ announcement is imminent. The Xbox Store listings are ready, some examples: 1) SKULL AND BONES™ PRE-ORDER BONUS2) Bloody Bones Legacy Quest3) Ashen Corsair Quest4) Smuggler Pass Token5) Digital Soundtrack and Artbook6) Premium Bonus…June 28, 2022
This release date discovery was later corroborated by well-known whistleblower and leaker Tom Henderson, who simply tweeted a green tick in response.
Alumia_Italia suggests that the game’s listing on the Xbox Store means that an “announcement of Skull and Bones is imminent”. In fact, Tom Henderson claimed earlier this month in a report to TryHard Guides (opens in new tab) that according to their sources, Ubisoft is planning to re-reveal the game in early July and that the re-reveal will include a release date confirmation.
Skull and Bones does not currently have an official release date, although earlier this year Ubisoft said in a financial briefing (opens in new tab) who expect the game to release this financial year, so before April 2023. November 8 would certainly fit that goal.
Of course, any leaked release dates should always be taken with a pretty sizable pinch of salt. We won’t know the Skull and Bones release date for sure until we officially hear from Ubisoft.
Analysis: is it likely?
It’s safe to say that Skull and Bones is a game that comes from a long time ago. First revealed in 2017, it has had its release date pushed back several times amid reports of a mid-development reboot.
In the September 2020 Update, Ubisoft Singapore Creative Director Elisabeth Pellen said that the game was being made with a “new vision”, and in February 2022, Ubisoft stated that Skull and Bones is now a “multiplayer” game. first”, suggesting that mentions of single-player elements made in the first E3 presentations no longer apply.
Despite these issues and delays, however, over the last few months, it seems increasingly likely that the game could finally be gearing up for release, because this leak is certainly not the first.
In April, for example, some gameplay footage was leaked (via VGC (opens in new tab)) and Tom Henderson reported (opens in new tab) Technical Playtest invitations being distributed. apparent from Ubisoft answer (opens in new tab) for the leaks was telling fans to “keep your eyes on the horizon”.
Even more recently, in May the game was evaluated in South Korea and it was just a few days ago that it received its ESRB rating (opens in new tab) from ‘M’ to mature.
With all these things considered, it seems possible that Ubisoft is gearing up for a Skull and Bones announcement. A November release date – or should we say November-arrr – doesn’t seem out of the realms of possibility either. If it’s not going to be a month where you can really lean towards the ‘arrr’ sound then really what’s the point?