Ubisoft Delays Release Date of Skull and Bones
Ubisoft has announced a new delay in the release date of the highly anticipated game, Skull and Bones. The French company confirmed this during its latest financial results presentation for the first half of the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The game is now scheduled to arrive in the first months of next year.
A Long Development Journey
Skull and Bones has been in development since 2013, facing several delays since its initial announcement in 2017. Earlier this year, the game was postponed from its original March release date to an unspecified date within the current fiscal year. The reason behind the delay was to ensure a «much more polished experience and balanced» for players.
Following a closed beta held a few months ago, Ubisoft has decided to further delay the game’s release from the third quarter of 2023 to a new date between January and March 2024, which has not been specified yet.
More Delays in Ubisoft’s Lineup
Skull and Bones is not the only Ubisoft game facing a delay. Another major title, which remains unnamed, was originally set to release before March 31, 2024, but will now be published after April next year. Speculations suggest that the affected game is Star Wars: Outlaws, a highly anticipated title based on the George Lucas franchise and developed by Ubisoft Massive studio.
Despite these delays, Ubisoft has a lineup of games planned for the remainder of this fiscal year, including Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Just Dance 2024, Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, and Skull and Bones. Additionally, they will release free-to-play titles such as Rainbow Six Mobile, The Division Resurgence, and XDefiant.
Cost Reduction Program and Sales Momentum
During the results presentation, Ubisoft also discussed the «cost reduction program» that was announced after disappointing results in January. The company revealed that approximately 1,300 jobs worldwide were reduced between September 2022 and September 2023. However, it was not specified how many of these reductions were layoffs and how many were voluntary departures.
Despite the setbacks, Ubisoft expressed satisfaction with the sales momentum of their recent releases, including Assassin’s Creed Mirage and The Crew Motorfest.