Ubisoft's upcoming pirate adventure Skull and Bones was announced back in E3 2017. The game is all about pirating the Indian Ocean with friends in an effort to gain higher-tiered weaponry and ships, and ultimately become a Pirate legend. That is, as far as fans are aware. Back in September 2020, Ubisoft talked about a "new vision" for the game, and what comes of that has yet to be seen.
The game is currently being worked upon by Ubisoft Singapore, which assisted on the game's inspiration, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. Skull and Bones was supposed to release in 2018, but a variety of has pushed the release date to around 2021. At the time of writing, there are 2 major trailers released that shed light on what the game is all about, though there are a couple of other dive-like videos should anyone be interested in seeing more of the game.
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Ubisoft revealed the first trailer of Skull and Bones in E3 2017. This trailer is around eight minutes long and provides a detailed explanation of what the game is about and how the developer came up with this idea. While working on Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, the developer experimented with pitting two real-world players against each other in naval combat. This reportedly turned out to be supremely fun and nudged them to work further upon the concept, with the result being Skull and Bones.
Further on, Ubi details what improvements players can expect from AC 4: Black Flag. Most major improvements come in the variety of ships and weapons that players will get to use in their travels, and Skull and Bones will also utilize Ubisoft's famous systemic approach to the open-world, hopefully resulting in a more cohesive experience. External factors such as wind will also dramatically alter the experience for players and will force them to alter their tactics to gain a competitive edge over their foes.
2018's E3 saw the release of 2 trailers for Skull and Bones, with the first one being an official trailer lasting around 3 minutes. This trailer is a pre-rendered cinematic trailer with a focus on showing off intense moments and the huge scope of the seas.
The other trailer is an extensive showcase of Skull and Bones' gameplay. The mode showcased in the trailer was the open-world multiplayer mode titled Hunting Grounds, which looks to be the main mode where players exist in a shared world and take quests to rob merchant ships. The trailer starts out in the hub, where players can purchase upgrades for their ships and change the loadout accordingly to suit their gameplay needs.
Like a typical Ubisoft open-world trailer, viewers get overlying commentary that explains most of the systems and tactics that the game offers for players. The trailer starts off with some exploration, including swapping the pirate flag for a Portuguese one to sneak past a fort and attack a ship. The viewers are then see two players team up in an effort to face a giant Portuguese Frigate.
Both of these trailers give fans an in-depth look into the gameplay systems and loops in Skull and Bones, despite its delays. While much hasn't been shown off since that announcement, the trailers do depict a richly realized pirating world, and it'll be interesting to see how that vision has changed next time the game takes a stage.
Skull and Bones is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.