Ubisoft Spent About $800 Million On Skull And Bones, Insider Claims

I'll believe it when I see those payslips.

By Najam Ul Hassan October 4, 2024

I Wonder Where All That Budget Went for Skull and Bones | Image Source: Ubisoft

Story Highlights

Skull and Bones had been stuck in development hell for as long as one can remember.
After finally coming out earlier this year, the title has failed to live up to its hype.
As per a known source, it’s been reported that Ubisoft spent north of $650 million on the game.

Everyone and their grandma awaited the arrival of Skull and Bones when Ubisoft took the plunge of revealing it at E3 2017. The concept seemed fresh and fairly new, but little did we know what was really coming regarding the game years later. Suffering from release delays for more than 6 times, Skull and Bones finally came into existence on February 16, 2024.

On launch, the title failed to garner the type of user reception it aspired to prior to its release, with Ubisoft putting the pirate action-adventure on discount merely three weeks after launch. But here’s what is mind-boggling and hinging on the spectrum of something you just can’t believe: Ubisoft reportedly spent about $650-$800 million on Skull and Bones.

That’s a pretty wild figure for a game that’s lackluster on multiple fronts, but then again, take it with a grain of salt, because the information hasn’t been officially vetted. Endymion on YouTube claims to have a source in Ubisoft who’s spilled these internal beans for the YouTuber.

My sources told me they have seen multiple different versions of the game that were each completely different over the years. They said that they were told that the budget that was spent on Skull and Bones ranged somewhere from $650 to $850 million over 10 years. And that Skull and Bones failed so badly for Ubisoft, it was the actual reason why they’re dying the way that they are right now.”

For reference, skip to 14:56 in the following video.

Skull And Bones Has Given Ubisoft A Deep Cut

Following the release of Skull and Bones, players started going back to the OG pirate experience in the name of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. The fact of the matter is that Black Flag’s player count tripled after the release of Skull and Bones, with players wanting to re-experience how great (yet relatively old) naval combat feels like.

eXputer reviewed Ubisoft’s misfire, rating it 3/5, and calling it “a worse version of AC Black Flag” with all of its flaws, including lackluster on-foot combat, subpar voice acting, inadequate gameplay mechanics, and redundant gameplay.

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