Ubisoft's Long-Dormant Pirate Game Skull & Bones Is Getting Rebooted - Report

Many of us have forgotten that Ubisoft was developing the pirate game Skull & Bones--owing to the fact that we haven't seen anything about it since 2018--but the developer is still forging onward with the project. However, according to a report from VGC, Ubisoft is moving Skull & Bones away from the premium model offered by its other series, such as Assassin's Creed, and towards a "live" model similar to free-to-play megahit Fortnite.

In the report, sources say that Fortnite's approach to events and an ever-changing game world is the new direction for the pirate adventure, with quests changing based on the actions of the player community. The project had a significant shift in leadership, with its former creative director stepping aside in favor of Elisabeth Pellen, a longtime Ubisoft employee best-known for their work on XIII. Ubisoft declined to comment on the report.

Over the past month, Ubisoft has been engulfed in one of the largest scandals in industry history, with several of the publishers' top staffers accused of fostering a toxic work culture that allowed rampant sexual harassment. This led to three executives stepping down late last week. The publisher's Ubisoft Forward event on July 12 did not address these ongoing issues.