So Ubisoft’s long-announced game (which has been in development hell for a while) will not focus on its story…

According to Skull & Bones director Ryan Barnard, the game won’t have such a strong story. The French publisher has positioned its Ubisoft Singapore project (the studio has been in the news for sexual abuse) as a live service game. Still, there were undoubtedly those who expected the game to have a nicely developed single-player campaign so that narrative-driven content could have been given attention. But we have to give that up.

The emphasis was on players creating their unique stories. Barnard told TrueAchievements bluntly that Skull & Bones is not a narrative-driven game: “We have narrative pieces — in the game, you’ll meet essential NPCs called Kingpins which have their own stories that you’ll learn as you develop rapport with them by taking on contracts with them. There is an underlying story to the game with which we build the entire world lore, but that’s not the main focus.

We want players to create their stories and be able to choose the type of pirate they want to be. That being said, what drives you through the progression system, which we call Infamy, is that you will gain access to blueprints in the game, giving you different types of ships, weapons, and armours. You’ll need those as you move and explore around the world to be effective against new foes.”

Indeed, when Ubisoft announced Skull & Bones, the whole project seemed different: the French publisher is now pushing a GaaS (Games-as-a-Service) model when it appeared more like an extension of the shipboard battle systems of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag or perhaps a spiritual sequel to Sid Meier’s Pirates.

Skull & Bones will be released on November 8 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions have been cancelled.

Source: PSL