Skull and Bones was revealed back at E3 2017 as a game inspired by Assassin's Creed Black Flag's naval combat. After seeing Immortals Fenyx Rising derived from Assassin's Creed Odyssey, this inspiration could make for a promising pirate game. However, some fans may be concerned and rightfully so: the game's development history is full of changes, including a "new vision" for the game.
Last summer, it was also reported that Skull and Bones was adding live-service elements to the game. This move makes sense from a business perspective, as live-service games include continuous monetization, but a lot has changed since then. In fact, it seems Skull and Bones may be trying to latch to something that is on the way out.
The End of Piracy, The End of Live Service
It would seem that Skull and Bones takes place near the end of the Golden Age of Piracy, as the world shrinks and piracy becomes harder to maintain. Interestingly enough, live-service games may find themselves in a similar situation. Perhaps it's not so extreme, but there's a chance that future games think twice about live-service elements. While every game approaches it differently, live-service elements typically come in the form of continuous, involved post-launch content like raids, expansions, and more. That doesn't mean story DLC packs, but how Marvel's Avengers is adding new content to the game like heroes and villains, how Destiny 2 adds raids and new weapons to grind, and seasonal structures are usually an indication of some level of live-service games.
However, one common complaint about live-service games is how empty they often feel at launch. This tends to have the opposite reaction; instead of engaging with new content, players may find themselves checking out. Every live-service game has received criticism akin to this, but perhaps the biggest example right now is BioWare's Anthem. Although the core game had a ton of promise, it suffered severely from lackluster loot grinds, a weak gameplay loop, and even its cataclysm was not well-received. The game itself had a ton of problems, but its live-service elements compounded this.
In fact, because of Anthem's reception, release, and cancellation, Dragon Age 4 has reportedly dropped all live-service elements. What this means is players can expect a game closer to Dragon Age: Origins or even Inquisition. It doesn't mean there won't be story-based DLCs, but it does mean players can expect the core content to be complete on day one. Depending on how prominent/far along these aspects were, there's a chance that Dragon Age 4 has been slightly, possibly internally delayed to remove them. In the long run, it may be worth it to deliver an experience that many expect of the franchise.
In this is a valuable lesson: not every game needs live-service elements. There are certainly games that work well with them, and there are some that are always going to be popular despite the investment. Destiny 2 and Division 2 come to mind, but there are certainly others. That's great, but not prescriptive. Because of the increased monetization, it seems like a strong temptation to make anything and everything live service, but that's certainly not the case. Many Dragon Age fans are no doubt excited about the aforementioned news, and strong single-player games often top the sales chart. Games like The Last of Us 2, Final Fantasy, Skyrim, and the like are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Ultimately, telling the difference between what makes a good, strong single-player game and what makes a good, strong live-service game is a much-needed aspect in the industry. For example, battle royale games like Apex Legends and Fortnite building on their core content with limited-time events, new season passes, skins, and more makes sense. It doesn't make as much sense to do this to an established single-player franchise, something that seems more like a single-player game, or a famously single-player studio.
Skull and Bones Still Has a Lot of Promise
In that, Skull and Bones is in an odd situation as a new IP. It's hard to tell, based on what's been shown so far, whether or not it's a game suited for live-service elements. It does have a single-player campaign, and given the sheer lack of good contemporary pirate games, that'll likely be a big part of it. At the same time, it was born from the idea of players fighting each other with AC Black Flag's naval combat, so it's doubtful the multiplayer elements are going anywhere. Back in September 2020, the "vision" for Skull and Bones had changed somewhat, and the sheer amount of known changes stands in stark contrast to what is publicly known about.
There's no doubt it's on many lists of Ubisoft games to learn more about, and while live-service elements are possible for it, that's hopefully because the game is capable of making the most out of that. Having a full, complete game before these would definitely go a long way, but a bare game that is supplemented later by new content may not go over well.
After all, it's been nearly 4 years since the initial reveal, and it's hard to say that it's coming out any time soon. Especially after games like Anthem and Cyberpunk 2077, fans are more likely to be forgiving if the game doesn't release soon than they are if it releases as an almost-empty and barren sea.
Case in point: if Skull and Bones hits those boxes for a live-service elements, then it needs to make sure they are tasteful and not likely to fall to past criticisms. If it turns out that the game is better without them, even with MP support, then Ubisoft shouldn't be scared to put the game out as a whole package. The same attitude has put a lot of positivity around Dragon Age 4, and Ubisoft is no doubt aware of its development practices (it's been delaying a lot of games, even by COVID-19 standards). This may seem a bit on the nose, but Skull and Bones should be a good pirate game first, anything else second.
Skull and Bones is in development, with PC, PS4, and Xbox One as confirmed platforms.