In 2022, Ubisoft canceled several titles and delayed the pirate RPG Skull & Bones. And even though it’s a new year, the company has done much the same, canceling three more games and delaying Skull & Bones again.
The company disclosed this information in a recent financial update. This damning report notes that the industry has shifted towards “mega-brands and long-running titles that can reach players around the world, across platforms and business models.” However, the games that Ubisoft is positioning to meet this criteria have yet to be released, and their recent games “didn’t perform as well as expected.” He also called for “deteriorating macroeconomic conditions” that have made the market an even tougher place, as well as the investment and challenges that result from working from home.
These struggles have led Ubisoft to do a complete overhaul of its roster and become more cautious. And as such, Ubisoft said it has canceled three more unannounced games to ensure its energies are “focused on building [its] brands and services live in some of the most powerful in the industry.” As previously stated, this is on top of the four unannounced games it canning in July 2022.
Co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot also called Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Despite glowing critical reviews and an “ambitious marketing plan,” he noted that Ubisoft was surprised by its disappointing performance in the final weeks of 2022 and early 2023. As reported by the Video Games Chronicle, Guimot said that he believes the title of the tactical crossover “will achieve good results over time” due to the positive reception of players. For reference, the original reached 10 million players as of August 2022 after five years.
He also stated that Just Dance 2023 also underperformed. Despite those setbacks, Guillemot said he was confident in the company given its “teams, brands, production capacity, technology and balance,” and specifically mentioned the continued strength of Rainbow Six Siege and Assassin’s Creed.
The delay of Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones was also buried in this report. While explaining that the extra development time has paid off and made it a stronger title, Ubisoft is pushing the title into “early 2023 to 2024” to “build awareness” and add more polish. The game’s Twitter account has yet to confirm the push, but revealed that it will be holding a stream on January 13th at 9am PT.
Skull & Bones has been kicking around Ubisoft for almost a decade. It began development in 2013 as a multiplayer spin-off of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag before becoming its own title. It was revealed at E3 2017 and originally planned for a 2018 release before being pushed back more and more as the years went on. According to a report by Kotaku, it suffers from a lack of direction, muddled design, and poor management, which helps explain its ever-changing release window. It was most recently pegged for November 8, 2022, before being pushed back to March 9, 2023, a date it will no longer reach.
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