Ubisoft Believes Skull and Bones Justifies $70 Price Tag

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Avinash Jaisrani

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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Following over twenty trailers, multiple delays, and seven years of promises, Skull and Bones is finally sailing toward its release date this month. However, the game’s troubled development has left more than a few doubts.

In addition to its own rough history, this live service title bears the burden of introducing Ubisoft to the world of $70 AAA games. However, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot remains confident and believes the game will justify this price tag.

Why it matters: In the current economy, each $70 purchase requires a lot of commitment from gamers, making it difficult to pick between different options. Therefore, this move could severely limit Ubisoft’s market as it tries to break into live-service gaming again.

During a Q&A session after Ubisoft’s latest financial earnings report, the CEO was asked about the publisher’s decision to pursue a $70 price tag despite the focus on heavy live service elements for this release.

The caller highlighted that a lower price tag or a free-to-play model would have worked better with this approach, but CEO Yves Guillemot remained adamant that Skull and Bones would end up being worth a $70 purchase. He said:

“You will see that Skull and Bones is a fully-fledged game.”

He also used the term ‘AAAA game’ to define Skull and Bones. In the past, Ubisoft has used this term for games like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, pointing to massive budgets and incredible production values.

According to the CEO, this live service offering is massive and ships with a complete experience. Therefore, players have little reason to fear the price tag disappointing in the long run.

Similarly, the senior producer recently claimed that Skull and Bones would have a lot of longevity.

While Ubisoft may be late to the trend of $70, it is far from the only one. Both Capcom and Ubisoft are set to debut their first $70 titles in February and March, with Dragon’s Dogma 2 filling in the gap for Capcom.

However, Skull and Bones’ troubled history is no secret, so audiences remain cautiously optimistic about the impending release. For those still on the fence, Ubisoft has just launched an open beta, allowing players to get a first-hand experience of its latest live-service project.

Avinash Jaisrani

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