'Skull and Bones' finally arrives on November 8th, just four years behind schedule

Skull and Bones, Ubisoft's long-awaited open-world pirate simulator, is coming out on November 8th, 2022. It's due to hit Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, Steam, the Epic Games Store, Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, as well as Ubisoft Connect.

This release date has been a long time coming — Skull and Bones was announced at E3 2017 and it was even playable at that show two years in a row, but Ubisoft has kept fairly silent on the pirate sim since 2018. In today's stream, developers briefly explained what happened: Part-way through development, they rebooted the game as a grittier, more realistic experience than originally planned. Today, Ubisoft showed off the reimagined Skull and Bones with a live stream, cinematic trailer and gameplay video.

At its heart, Skull and Bones is an open-world, online experience with co-op elements, but players will be able to log into PvP servers as well. The core game is all about climbing the ranks to become an infamous pirate on the Indian Ocean, sailing, crafting, managing assets, battling and strategizing on the high seas during the golden age of piracy.

Players start with a small ship and as they progress, they're able to craft larger and more intricate vessels, customizing along the way. As captain, players have to manage the crew, and ensure they're well-fed and happy enough to stop any thoughts of mutiny. If the ship sinks, players start over and can recover their cargo, as long as another pirate doesn't get there first.

Ubisoft is set to host another showcase on September 10th, this one focused on Assassin's Creed and some of its other, less piratey, properties.