Ubisoft’s highly anticipated and oft-delayed Skull and Bones has received a rating in South Korea, suggesting its release is in the offing.
The rating for the Skull and Bones PC version was first spotted on the South Korea Game Rating and Administration Committee website by Twitter user @the_marmolade (via VGC). According to the site, the review of the game was submitted on May 12 and it appears that it has been classified as an adult game and “not available to young people”. We realize that an appreciated ‘arrr’ joke here would be totally unoriginal, which is why we definitely don’t make it. Not really.
As for details about the game provided by the review, there’s nothing particularly in-depth. Describing it as “An open-world action game set in the Indian Ocean in the golden age of pirates as a backdrop,” the listing cites instances of drug use, drinking and smoking in the game as the reasoning behind the decision.
That Skull and Bones is now in the review phase suggests that development is on its way and may be nearing completion. This comes just days after Ubisoft said in a financial briefing that it expects the game to launch this fiscal year, i.e. before April 2023, without giving an exact release date.
We’re not sure when we can expect our next official update on Skull and Bones progress, or when we’ll see a fresh look at it. The Summer Game Fest is coming, however, and it is sure to bring a lot of exciting reveals and updates from publishers. It could therefore be an ideal time for Ubisoft to show players what it has in store for the rest of the financial year, although Ubisoft hasn’t announced any plans yet.
Analysis: Where has Skull and Bones been?
Skull and Bones hasn’t had the smoothest development, it’s safe to say. After being unveiled all the way back in 2017, the release has been pushed back several times amid reports of a reboot midway through development.
Indeed, in a September 2020 update, Ubisoft Singapore’s creative director Elisabeth Pellen said the game was made with a “new vision” and in February 2022, Ubisoft stated that Skull and Bones is now a “multiplayer first” game, after early E3 presentations had made some mentions of single-player elements.
More recently, a few minutes of gameplay footage leaked (via VGC) in April. Ubisoft turned out answer by telling fans to “keep your eyes on the horizon”. At the end of April also Tom Henderson reported invitations to technical Playtests will be sent. Overall, it all looks promising that Skull and Bones could make that pre-April 2023 release.
It certainly feels like Skull and Bones has been going on for a long time. We went hands-on with the game all the way back at E3 2017 and 2018 and had it pretty good on both shows. Of course it’s changed since then, so we’re looking forward to what Ubisoft is up to.