A Skull and Bones leak shows how the multiplayer pirate game has progressed over the years.
Skull and Bones Leak Suggests Good News on the Horizon
Written by Ollie Bradley at 04/30/2022, 08:07 AM
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag was the best Assassin's Creed game. Don't @ me. Which is why the announcement of Skull and Bones back in 2017 made Black Flag fanboys & fangirls nearly wet their breeches. But the development process has been a long and arduous voyage, casting doubt on its fate. But there's hope on the horizon.
Skull and Bones is a title that was 'inspired' by one of Black Flag's main (and best) features: battles upon the high seas. It takes place in an open world (the setting of which has changed from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean) with a heavy focus on PvP ship battles, which have been finetuned from the seminal mechanics of its AC predecessor.
A now-deleted video leaked on Reddit reportedly showed narrated footage of the anticipated pirate simulator. It demonstrated some of the title's key features, including NPC contracts which can help to rank up player ships. It also showed how resource management will now be integral to efficient piracy, with players needing to keep stock of their rations, water, repair kits and ammunition.
Also, similar to survival games, players will need to craft their way to oceanic supremacy, with the acquisition of materials such as ore and animal skins being of primary concern.
Whilst the game has been particularly sluggish in its development, developer Ubisoft have stayed the course - with a recent Tweet reassuring us that good news is afoot.
The fact that the leaked footage was deleted is also good news. Though perhaps not for the account that posted it, which has also since been deleted. Because if the behaviour of Warner Brothers in their dogged attempts to quell leaks of the new Harry Potter game tells us anything, it's that censorship is good news for gaming.
In any case, this Skull and Bones leak has put us on high alert. And in a year that seems to be very pirate-centric in the MMO sphere, its release in 2022 would really be the icing on the cake.