Big Ubisoft game delayed six times

Ubisoft has announced that it has cancelled three unannounced games, and delayed a big game it’s been working on for the sixth time.

Ubisoft has announced that it has cancelled three unannounced games, and delayed its upcoming pirate multiplayer game Skull and Bones.

Initially announced in 2017, Skull and Bones was first intended to be released in late 2018. The game has since seen six delays, first being moved into 2019, then 2020. In late 2019, Ubisoft said that the game had been pushed back and would release in 2021.

In May 2021, the game was pushed further back into 2022, with Ubisoft eventually setting a date for November 8, 2022. That release was also pushed back, with Ubisoft offering a revised release date of March 9, 2023. Now, Ubisoft says it will miss that date, with a new release window announced for sometime between April 2023 and March 2024.

The changes come during a difficult year for Ubisoft, with the major French video game publisher looking to save almost $300 million in spending. Ubisoft previously forecast growth of about 10% for the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, but instead is expecting a decline of 10%.

Ubisoft has struggled financially this fiscal year, due in part to a lack of high profile released. Picture: Ubisoft

Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot said in a statement released by the company that part of the reason for the decline is an underperformance of crossover strategy game Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023.

Guillemot maintains that the company can recover, with upcoming games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora bolstering the company’s position going forward.

“We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance,” Guillemot said, “Despite excellent ratings and players’ reception as well as an ambitious marketing plan, we were surprised by Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope underperformance in the final weeks of 2022 and early January. Just Dance 2023 underperformed as well. Therefore, with the approval of the Board of Directors, we are taking additional important strategic and operational decisions today”.

Ubisoft did not elaborate on what the now-cancelled unannounced games were, but said that it would be focusing on its tentpole franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six going forward.

Skull and Bones has been rebooted and reworked multiple times throughout its troubled development. Picture: Ubisoft

Skull and Bones isn’t the only Ubisoft game to miss its release date more than once. Ubisoft had the refund players for a missing Prince of Persia remake, after the Sands of Time remake missed its initial launch window by more than a year.

The company revealed that the newest Just Dance game would be the most accessible yet shortly before the game’s release, with new options for players with disabilities including an option to play dances while seated.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.