Ubisoft’s pirate game Skull and Bones is currently falling short of expectations. An insider report now reveals how many people are playing the game. The reasons for the low numbers even come from the developers themselves.
How is Skull and Bones performing? The release of the game was on February 16, 2024. Since then, both critics and players have been able to form an impression.
On Metacritic, things don’t look particularly bright at the moment. The meta score is at 61 points, and the user score is 3.6.
What are the player numbers? An insider report (via inside-gaming.com) brings some light into the darkness. According to the source, Skull and Bones currently has around 850,000 players in total. This also includes those who haven’t purchased the game but are trying the demo version.
The free demo is quite extensive with eight hours of gameplay. According to the report, many players are relatively engaged and play between three and four hours a day.
The only question is whether this will change when the demo expires and players have to pay the full price of 70 euros.
A major issue may be the price
What could be the reasons for the low player numbers? The elephant in the room is probably the high price of the game. Ubisoft charges “only” 59.99 € for Skull and Bones on PC, but on PS5 and Xbox, the game costs a hefty 79.99 €.
All this for a game that might work better with a free-to-play model. Ubisoft has already commented on the price, calling Skull and Bones a AAAA game.
However, the price is also controversial within the developer studio. One employee expressed it as follows:
I think we all know this is at best a $30-$40 game, but it’s not within our control to determine these things.
Anonymous employee via insider-gaming.com
Earlier reports already indicated that the game has cost a lot to produce, estimated at $200 million, during a ten-year development period. Thousands of employees worked in 11 different studios on Skull and Bones. This led to repeated delays in the schedule and creative direction changes. At least Ubisoft solved an annoying problem right before the release.
Currently, there are probably still some players busy with the demo. It remains to be seen how many of them will be convinced and then ready to pay the full price.
On Reddit, players aren’t holding back with their opinions:
- “70 dollars for this crap. If you want to play Skull and Bones, better play Assassin’s Creed Black Flag or Sea of Thieves,” writes smolgote.
- “I mean, they forgot to release half the game. There’s no treasure hunting, no dueling (melee and gun combat), no boarding enemy ships, no explorable land…” says thenewredhoodie.
- “Just wait, the game will be great in 2-3 years,” writes JamesLikesIt ironically.
The coming days and weeks will show how Skull and Bones continues to be received by players. The German streamer Maurice Weber has already made his judgment.
