- Skull and Bones launched alongside a free 8-hour trial recently.
- Despite the trial, the game has not reached 1 million players.
- Ubisoft reportedly stated that average engagement is still reasonably high.
Skull and Bones is the latest in a long line of live-service titles to perform well below expectations.
Recent releases like Suicide Squad failed to reach expectations regarding player counts at release, and it seems Ubisoft’s first AAAA launch for 2024 is facing a similar situation. According to reports, the game has failed to reach 1 million players.
Why it matters: This live-service title was trapped in development hell for many years, becoming a major liability for Ubisoft over the years.
EXCLUSIVE – Skull and Bones Has Less Than 1 Million Players Total, Including Free Trial Playershttps://t.co/nKZOrPU4Ce
— Insider Gaming (@InsiderGamingIG) February 22, 2024
This information comes from the reliable Tom Henderson. With several sources at Ubisoft, this leaker has proven to be accurate about past reports.
Sources state the game has a total of 850K players for now, including those from Ubisoft’s free trial. Unfortunately, the report does not break down the percentage of users coming from the free trial.
Therefore, it is difficult to conclude whether Skull and Bones faces the threat of dying out before Ubisoft can release key content updates. On a more positive note, the studio appears pleased with engagement statistics.
The report states most players have an average daily playtime of around three to four hours for now. Ubisoft seems to find this result satisfactory, though an anonymous source acknowledged that the game’s $70 price is too high.
“We all know this is a $30-40 game at best.”
-Anonymous Ubisoft Developer
The game had a budget of over $120 million, and Ubisoft does not expect to recoup these costs. However, the studio seems to have made last-ditch efforts toward this goal, using the $70 launch price for maximum revenue.
While Skull and Bones is by no means terrible, we find Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag to be the better pirate simulator. Perhaps this is why the latter recently went through its own resurgence on various platforms.
Skull and Bones is still a fresh and hot topic. However, if Ubisoft is unable to retain players, the game is poised to quickly fade from mainstream attention amid highly-anticipated releases in the months of February and March.
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