Skull and Bones is “not a narrative game”

“There is an underlying story to the game […] but that’s not the main focus.”

Ubisoft’s upcoming pirate game Skull and Bones is “not a narrative-driven game”.

That’s according to game director Ryan Barnard, who revealed to True Achievements that whilst it will have “narrative pieces”, focus on your player’s own story and has “an underlying story”, the adventure will not be “narrative-driven”.

“Skull and Bones is not a narrative-driven game,” Barnard explains. “We have narrative pieces – in the game, you’ll meet important 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 own 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 the fact that you will gain access to blueprints in the game which will give you different types of ships, weapons, and armours, and you’ll need those as you move and explore around the world to be effective against new foes,” he added.

Barnard also opened up about the gameplay, too. Though “mainly a naval game”, “there are many different outposts to discover as a player”, including encampments with different factions and hidden treasure, so there will be plenty of gameplay on land. As for why the game isn’t coming to legacy consoles, PS4 and Xbox One?

“I believe that in our development cycle, we wanted to release this title and with the longevity of support we had planned, it made sense that we released on the current-gen console,” Barnard said.

Originally revealed back at E3 2017, Skull & Bones – which is being developed by Ubisoft Singapore – was initially due to release on Xbox, PS4, and PC sometime the following year. However, it’s now been subject to two official delays, once in 2018 and another in 2019. Then last summer (Q2 2021), we learned the pirate game was now expected to launch at some point during its 2022-2023 financial year – which ends in March 2023.

After plenty of rumours and speculation about Ubisoft’s long-anticipated pirate game, Skull & Bones – which underwent “extensive reworking” a couple of years back – is slated to set sail on 8th November on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. After years of development hell, leakers confirmed last month that a new date was on the way, along with a re-reveal trailer, both of which turned out to be accurate.