Ubisoft's Skull & Bones is being reworked with live game elements
But when will it go on sail?
Long-lost Ubisoft pirate game Skull & Bones is being reworked to offer a live game service, according to a new report.
Originally unveiled back at E3 2017 for release the following year, the repeatedly-delayed Skull & Bones is a spin-off from Assassin's Creed series' naval gameplay, developed by the same team at Ubisoft Singapore.
According to VGC, the game is now intended to tell an ongoing story influenced by the actions of its players, with a shifting cast of quests and characters and a greater emphasis on co-operative play.
Ubisoft's last official update on Skull & Bones' development came in May 2019, when the publisher announced its most recent delay.
"We're going to batten down the hatches and push back on the game's arrival," Ubisoft wrote in a message posted to Skull & Bones' Twitter. "This is challenging news for us all, but it's what's needed to make Skull & Bones as awesome as it can be!"
The earliest Skull & Bones will now release is April 2021.
To date, we've seen little of the game. At E3 2017 I played a version that handled very similarly to the ship combat found in Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Ubisoft remained tight-lipped on the game's story, though said it would feature "iconic characters".
More promising gameplay turned up a year later at E3 2018, with word of an incoming beta, though this never materialised.
There was also talk of a "female-driven" Skull & Bones TV show - although we've heard nothing more on that for over a year either.
Perhaps we'll get an update at the second Ubisoft Forward presentation later this year? We shore hope so.