When was the Skull and Bones release date? Ubisoft fans have been asking for a dedicated pirate adventure game since Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, and now those prayers have been answered. Skull and Bones is all about gathering your sea scoundrels and taking to the high seas.
Having navigated more delays than we can count, many were hopeful that Skull and Bones would sail straight into our best games list. While it was certainly one of the most intriguing new PS5 games and new Xbox games of 2024, the game didn’t really launch with the fanfare and plaudits you’d expect. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
Skull and Bones release date
The Skull and Bones release date was Friday, February 16, 2024. It released with full cross-platform support across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
After many, many delays, the game finally hit the high seas in 2024. The road to Skull and Bones’ release date hasn’t been without turmoil, and it was almost seven years between its reveal in June 2017 at E3 and its release.
But what about how the game actually plays? Let us take you through what to expect if you’re interested in picking it up.
Skull and Bones gameplay
Skull and Bones is a multiplayer action-adventure game, where you play as your own pirate, thanks to Skull and Bones character creation, to go from an outcast to an infamous seadog. You’ll need to survive by looting food, managing a crew that can become unruly and rebellious, crafting and wearing gear, and looking after your trusty ship.
A true pirate life will see you working towards contracts, plundering, taking part in events, and more. You’ll be rewarded with Infamy, which progresses you towards becoming a pirate legend. Plenty of other players will stand in your way, though, meaning you’ll need to work alone or with friends to ensure you come out on top. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter what platform you play on, as Skull and Bones crossplay is available.
During your pirating adventure, you’ll gain access to various ships with their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as different weapons ranging from classic cannons to rocket launchers. You can also gather resources across the ocean that will help you during your adventure. The different ways of getting new gear, gaining infamy, and securing your place in pirate legend offer a lot of creative freedom.
Skull and Bones reception
Despite almost seven years in the oven at Ubisoft and some lofty expectations (which included Ubisoft’s CEO calling it a “quadruple-A game”) Skull and Bones launch was underwhelming.
While some fun can be had with a group of pals in this multiplayer game, it struggled to make a case that it was any better than its main rival, Rare’s excellent Sea of Thieves. While SoT was one of the best Xbox exclusives, in 2024 it was revealed that it’s made the leap to PS5 as well. So, even for PS5 players, there’s a better alternative.
Review score wise, Skull and Bones launched with a disappointing average of 60 on Open Critic and scores ranging between 57 and 63 on Metacritic, depending on the platform.
So, Skull and Bones is certainly not shooting to the top of our best PS5 games and best Xbox games any time soon. While it’s pretty fun to watch streamers or YouTubers play, when it comes to buying it for yourself, we’d probably say steer clear unless you can pick it up cheap in a sale.