It’s Ubisoft earnings day, which suggests we’re due yet one more replace on the six-time-delayed pirate sport Skull and Bones. And whereas the information just isn’t explicitly one other delay, the most recent replace is that we will anticipate Skull and Bones to launch someday between January and March of 2024.
If you have not been following the saga of Ubisoft’s deeply troubled pirate journey, buckle up. Skull and Bones was first introduced approach, approach again at E3 2017, with a launch window set for fall 2018. It has since been delayed a whopping six instances, with the most up-to-date delay in January of this 12 months pushing the sport, allegedly, to “early 2023-2024.” It’s a little bit of a obscure window that would have meant any time this previous 12 months or early subsequent 12 months, however on the time appeared to confer with Ubisoft’s present ongoing fiscal 12 months, which ends in March. So whereas hopes weren’t excessive, Ubisoft appeared to be concentrating on a launch window that is now as soon as once more handed them by.
In in the present day’s earnings report for the primary half of its fiscal 12 months (ending with September), nevertheless, it gave a brand new window of “This autumn 2023-24,” which might be between the beginning of January and the top of March of 2024. Given that we’re now at six delays and counting, there’s not a complete lot of purpose to be assured on this assertion, particularly with Skull and Bones shedding its third artistic director simply final month. We did really get to play the sport in August and had a reasonably good time with it, nevertheless it stays to be seen when everybody else will lastly get their fingers on it.
In addition to the wiggling round of Skull and Bones’ launch window, Ubisoft’s earnings additionally slipped in a quiet sport delay. Remember the “one other massive sport” that the corporate has been teasing for this 12 months in its earnings the previous few quarters? It’s been pushed to subsequent 12 months. While Ubisoft has not confirmed what this thriller sport is, we all know that Ubisoft expects it to be an even bigger title on the extent of an Assassin’s Creed or a Far Cry, and Kotaku has beforehand reported it might be Star Wars: Outlaws, which was revealed earlier this 12 months.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are each nonetheless on observe for December and January, respectively. XDefiant seems to be rescheduled after an indefinite delay to come back out earlier than the top of March.
Elsewhere in its earnings, Ubisoft reported web bookings for the quarter of €554.8 million ($584.1 million), up 36.6% 12 months over 12 months, pushed by stronger than anticipated again catalog gross sales. The Crew: Motorfest additionally had a “file launch” for the franchise by unit gross sales, and Assassin’s Creed: Mirage week one participant numbers had been “in line” with Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Origins.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a narrative tip? Send it to [email protected].
