Skull & Bones has showed off new gameplay after the announcement of its latest delay.
After it was announced last September that the release of the much-anticipated game had been delayed once again until 2023, this week saw the game be pushed back once again, with a 2024 release now looking likely.
Ubisoft then teased that a firm release date announcement will be coming “very soon,” adding in a statement that their “determination and focus remain the same,” to “offer the best in-game experience possible to our play from day 1”.
A new developer stream has now been shared, offering a look into the game’s “narrative gameplay”. The “investigation” video is described by narrative director Joel Jannise as “a way to tell a story through a series of steps”.
By way of explanation, Jannise said: “The player follows a trail of something that they think is going to be interesting and likely going to lead to some kind of treasure or some kind of score.
“But it also tells a story about our factions and our world, and we do that by finding, for example, messages in bottles, scraps of lost journals, sometimes talking to different characters in the world, and through that we’re able to tell a story.”
Check it out below.
The latest delay is far from the first time that Skull & Bones’ release has been pushed back. It was originally revealed at Ubisoft’s 2017 E3 press conference and it was reported last year that the lengthy development cycle and multiple delays were due to a string of directorial changes.
In a January 2023 update, Ubisoft confirmed that the game would now likely be released in 2024, citing “major challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-lasting titles”.
The company added that the delay will allow for “a much more polished and balanced experience and to build awareness,” promising that players will be “positively surprised by its evolution”.
