Reports Suggest Skull & Bones Cost Ubisoft $850 Million

Ubisoft’s downward spiral continues as inside sources claim Skull & Bones, its recent pirate game, cost almost triple the purported $200 million budget.

Alleged sources within Ubisoft told YouTuber Endymion that Skull & Bones cost between $650 to $850 million over its 10 years of production.

They added that this investment and its non-profitability are causing the company’s financial ruin.

Released earlier this year, Skull & Bones faced criticism due to its $70 price tag and lackluster world, graphics, and mechanics. Despite being called, bizarrely, a “quadruple-A game” by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, it fell short of 10 years of expectations.

Many players have noted the difference in quality and “fun factor” between this game and Ubisoft’s successful pirate game, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag.

A popular comparison has been the difference in water physics and graphics— Black Flag was released in 2013.

The downgrade is perhaps due to the bloated development the game suffered. For 10 long years, rejected prototypes and delays left their besmirching mark on the game. As more time and money were pooled into the project, it had to be released, one way or another.

Ubisoft Singapore leading the development was arguably the only reason the game had to be released. The company received subsidies from the Singaporean government, which also mandated that the Singaporean branch of the French developer “must also launch original brand new IPs in the next few years.”

As of writing, the game has been true to its live service promises, in a way, and improved in many areas that suffered at launch. However, with an all-time peak of 2,615 players on Steam, it might be too late.

The Live Service Funerals Continue

If these rumors are true, they would explain Ubisoft’s recent cash and reputation loss. As 2024 comes to a close, Ubisoft’s standing as a big name in the industry is at its worst.

Their stock price – a weekly report, it seems – has plunged to record lows of $10.95 a share and has only gone back up to $11.71 as of writing. Employees are also expected to go on strike after the company issued a 5-day-a-week work-from-office policy.

A day before the policy update, management announced an internal investigation to align their execution to their ideals of “creating games for fans and players that everyone can enjoy.”

These financial losses—including revised net bookings of $371 to $392.2 million—have only compounded their declining reputation. What was once a giant of the industry has lost touch withthe gaming landscape and gamers.

A statement telling people to start “feeling comfortable with not owning your game” would perhaps feel at home in a dystopian novel.

Ubisoft’s director of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, said it. This angered most players, who have also had to battle Ubisoft Connect to play games they apparently never owned.

Disconnected management, misplaced investments, and consistently ill-received releases have combined to guarantee that every dollar spent hits Ubisoft where it hurts.

The rumored Skull & Bones budget is still just that, a rumor. If confirmed, Ubisoft’s reputation, and share price, will likely be hit even harder than it has.