Ubisoft Will Release 4 Big Games by March 2020, Skull and Bones Delayed

Game Rant

By Rory Young

Published May 15, 2019

Ubisoft breaks down its plans for the remainder of its fiscal year, confirming that Skull and Bones is delayed but that four other AAA games are in the works.

Ubisoft's quarterly fiscal reporting has resulted in a mix of both positive and negative news leading into E3 2019. The company confirmed that Skull & Bones, the competitive multiplayer pirate game, has had its release date delayed outside of the fiscal year. In turn, Ubisoft confirmed plans to release four other AAA games by the end of the fiscal year, which ends March 2020. Three of those AAA games have yet to be announced.

According to Ubisoft, the development of Skull & Bones needs a bit more time than previously insinuated. The development team says that it's putting "quality first" and that additional time is "needed to make Skull & Bones as awesome as it can be." Due to the delay, Skull & Bones also won't be shown by Ubisoft during E3, as the company shifts its marketing focus towards other projects nearer to release.

Those projects, as Ubisoft goes on to detail, include four AAA games, three of which are unannounced. Given that Assassin's Creed is skipping 2019, Splinter Cell rumors are being squashed, Just Dance isn't typically considered a AAA release, a Far Cry launched in early 2019, and Skull & Bones is now delayed, there are not a lot of known quantities to speculate on. Watch Dogs 3 is the likeliest rumor to be a reality, but the other two remain mysterious.

As for the fourth game to be released before March 2020, Ubisoft already announced that Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, a cooperative always-online squad shooter, launches October 4 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

As disappointing as the news about Skull & Bones is, Ubisoft has done a great job of blanking the slate for its upcoming E3 2019 plans. Much of what Ubisoft will show at E3 will be released within nine months. That includes four AAA games, three of which will be new announcements. Of course, Ubisoft may reveal one or more of those games in the weeks ahead of E3, but the excitement surrounding those projects will still be impressive.

Next-gen consoles may arrive in 2020, but Ubisoft isn't slowing down in the meantime.

Skull & Bones releases some time after March 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.