Skull and Bones: A Decade Lost to Ubisoft's Development Hell
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- Unless you've been living under a rock, you've surely heard of #ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot calling #skullandbones the "world's first Quadruple A game". Confidently signalling to people around the globe that this game will break records, set new standards, and push the industry forward.
But let's get back to #gaming reality here. This is Ubisoft we're talking about, and throughout the years I've been careful to make sure I don't get my hopes up just to get disappointed again. Fast forward to today, and Skull and Bones singlehandedly wiped millions of dollars off Ubisoft's stock value, tarnished the legacy of its predecessor (the far superior
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag), and continued to disappoint gamers all around the globe.
The most ironic thing is that Yves Guillemot's statement was immediately torpedoed after the game (allegedly) performed so poorly that "Skull and Bones" was changed to include a "free trial" in a desperate attempt to get people to pick up the game.
I’ve been following the development of Skull and Bones for a while now. After 11 painful years of development, the game was finally released in a sorry state in February of 2024, with little fanfare and reportedly terrible sales worldwide.
Across those 11 long years, I began to lose interest in the project as its development process became marred by a rotating cast of creative directors, numerous delays, and a stakeholder Ubisoft had to appease at all costs.
The writing was on the wall, and I knew that the project that I was so excited about all those years ago was likely dead in the water.
This video will examine the numerous shortfalls of Skull and Bones, analyse the game’s troubled #development cycle, and finally how the involvement of the Singaporean Government forced Ubisoft to push out the ill-fated game at any cost.
Credits:
@MrEdxwx for the Black Flag Gameplay
@MKIceAndFire for the Skull and Bones Gameplay
@LAKEYINSPIRED , @escapism.... and @UCq_RIvSF60v8fwrEang3DgA for the great tunes
Small and indie developers have been the true champions of recent gaming.
Most studios once they get to a certain size lose their passion and ability to take risks, despite the fact they’re the most economically well equipped to such things.
I actually love this comment so much because it summarises EXACTLY how I'm feeling right now about the gaming industry.
So many studios have fallen to this "curse" of going big and corporatising - all to lose the passion and spark which got them to this place of success in the first place.
I sincerely hope that Larian, Moon Studios, Arrowhead games and other indie devs never suffer this fate.
That said, thanks so much for leaving a comment! Means a lot to me, and I wish you a great day - wherever you may be :)
i think a big problem is, that big companies want the games to be accessible to as many people as possible, consequently dumbing down gameplay, mechanics and story, so causual players can play 1 to 2 hour sessions.
but for every longer continous playsession the games are not deep enough and get stale fast
@@Corristo1994 Honestly this is a great take that I didn't really consider when thinking about the subject.
I think accessibility is wonderful, don't get me wrong - but where it crosses the line is prioritising accessibility over what made the original games fun.
Like for example in Skull and Bones, so many of the game's exploration mechanics were dumbed down to "sail to island, press QuickTime button" and that's it. Even "looting" and "raiding" settlements became a single button press. Meanwhile in Black Flag, you could sail to different islands, dock your ship, explore outside of cities, actually walk around in Caribbean forests to hunt for materials.
Black Flag was so much more immersive, and that was what kept me playing. I was always excited to go from island to island, shipwreck to shipwreck and explore the world. I didn't feel that at all with Skull and Bones, and it's just depressing that the game took 11 years to develop and still came out half baked. Overall, it just feels like Skull and Bones is a game that disrespects your time... but that's just my thoughts.
Either ways, thanks so much for the comment! Wishing you a great day ahead - wherever you may be :)
What is the most baffling to me is that Assassins Creed Odyssey delivers a better boarding experience than the pirate game. I’d say boarding is a very key part of what people imagine pirate life was.
I know right? It's honestly so crazy to me that hundreds of millions of dollars basically went into making a worse game than Black Flag - which came out in 2013.....
All the other open world renditions of Assassin's Creed did this well too, which makes me even more confused as to how Skull and Bones ended up this way.
Either ways - I hope you liked the video and thank you so much for your comment :)
Have a beautiful day
Great video! I completely agree. It's infuriating to see this level of incompetence in the upper echelons of management in a company that produced such gems in the past.
Kinda reminds me of Starfield in a way
Dude don't even get me STARTED on Starfield. Playing that game made me feel sad and empty inside. "Skyrim but in space" was supposed to mean great things for Bethesda, but after spending some time with it and getting over the initial novelty - I saw the game for what it truly was. An uninspired mess built on an ancient engine that barely functioned even 10 years ago.
It's honestly just disappointing to see so many great franchises I grew up with going up in flames, or in this case - dying a slow and painful death.
Either ways - thanks so much for the comment! Really appreciate it :)
Wishing you a great day, wherever you may be
It
Really good video my friend. Was an enjoyable watch.
May I ask what accent that is? Don't think I've heared what quite like that before :)
Really hope you keep up what you're doing
Hey! Thank you so much for the nice comment :)
I guess I've got a southeast asian accent? Not sure if that's a real thing.
If you guys keep subscribing and leaving nice comments like this - you can be sure I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Have a wonderful day my friend!
Are you singaporean?
Yes? No? Maybe? Idk
When are we getting an Assassin's Creed from the crusader's perspective? They already came up with a storyline where you play as a member of King Richard's body guard...are they really going to just do whatever Sweet Baby / Karen tell them to do ?
Dude I literally daydreamed of this being a game that could be made. Can you imagine the possibilities, hunting down assassins in crowds, raiding secret bases. The possibilities are endless, and probably endlessly fun too.
As for the Sweet Baby thing - I really don't know how a business like theirs has survived for so long. Practically everything they touch is a trainwreck, and it's amazing to me that they're still in business despite going from flop to flop. Idk, should I make a video on them?
Either ways thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! Let's hope that Ubisoft wakes up and goes back to their roots (for real this time).
Have a great day ahead!
@@b0rk125 You've got an awesome channel, thank you !
What a waste of time and money
Exactly... I really can't imagine being a developer on this project and having literal years of blood sweat and tears culminate in such a half baked product.
Half baked aside, it's even more insulting that the game spits on the legacy of its predecessors. Shame on Ubisoft and their poor management.
Also, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it!
Have a wonderful day - wherever you may be
It's concerning only seeing you in the starter ship and in the starter area and still give your opinion while it seems you have barely touched the game
Great video, dude 😎
Appreciate the kind words my friend :)
Wishing you a wonderful day ahead - whenever you may be
It's glorified gacha game. Not a video game. You just click while the focus system is in game store and battlepass. The game has no end, only shitty endgame. Dont waste your time with it.
Exactly - I think it's a game that really disrespects the player's time, endlessly throwing meaningless mechanics and delivering a watered-down experience compared to Black Flag.
What's even more infuriating is the fact that it's priced at 70 bucks and still comes with a battle pass and typical live service nonsense.
Either ways, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Wishing you a great day ahead - wherever you may be!
Do you think they will try to correct the situation? or just slowly stop releasing content and let the game slowly die. The end game is terrible same three daily missions and the pieces of eight really have no point.
Got to love to see another youtuber join in on the grift. i get it, its hard to find good subject material. game is fun.