# The Turbulent Story of Skull and Bones – IGN
For years, many people believed Skull and Bones was a game that may never release, being plagued by six public delays, making it one of the most postponed games ever. The silence around it convinced people that it was either permanently stuck in development hell, or it had already failed. However, inside Ubisoft Singapore, hundreds of developers were trying to navigate a storm of design problems. Now, almost seven years since it was first revealed, Skull and Bones is primed to set sail. But the final version is different from the original game we saw in 2017. We take a look at Skull and Bones’ many delays, and the challenges behind them.
In Skull and Bones, the Indian Ocean is your playground. You can explore its open world and hunt down the food and materials needed for survival in the golden age of piracy. You are able to take on contracts that build your infamy and push you towards becoming a fearsome pirate kingpin. Its story is minimalist, promoting your own adventures.
Skull and Bones was once a different game, with many ideas before it became what it is today. Ubisoft revealed a new pirate game at its annual E3 conference in 2017, introduced as a shared, systemic world where you could sail solo or form a gang of pirates and terrorize the trade routes of the Indian Ocean.
In 2018, just before E3, a coop game was shown where players teamed up to take down a powerful enemy warship, radically different from the 5v5 multiplayer mode shown the previous year. Despite multiple changes, the team had something great, but they wanted to offer more.
The studio, which began as a small support studio, grew from a handful of people to a few hundred staff, and wanted to move from a support studio to develop an original game of their own. However, it’s a difficult task. The team suffered from a lack of leadership and a changing vision. They made a deal with the local government that required them to deliver Skull and Bones, which may be why the game continued development.
After multiple creative director changes, Elisabeth Pellen, a Ubisoft veteran, took over as the ship’s new captain. She introduced a live-service, open-world game all about survival. This new vision would fully focus on the shared open-world that had been promised and required all other ideas to be cancelled. It needed to leave its campaign and 5v5 mode behind.
Skull and Bones faced a long and challenging road to completion. The increased power of new consoles was a boon but also led to significant reworking and delays to the game. Ubisoft Singapore was also embroiled in workplace toxicity allegations, further complicating the game’s development. Despite it all, the team persevered and finally, Ubisoft has settled on a firm release date for Skull and Bones in 2024, 15 months and two delays later than its previously planned November 2022 launch.
The team at Ubisoft Singapore have made a lot of sacrifices to get to where they are today, overcoming numerous development complications and pressures. As it nears release, the team is now eager to deliver something special and is committed to the game for years in the future. The resilient team is proud to deliver their first lead triple-A game coming out of Singapore.
Skull and Bones’ story may be as famous as the black and white flag its pirates fly. The final form of the game is ready to set sail, embodying the shared, systemic world promised in its very first public appearance. However, as the design evolves, Ubisoft Singapore will continue to react to the demands of not just its management, but its players as well. The legend of Skull and Bones will long be as famous as the black and white flag its pirates fly.
