Ubisoft exec tries to justify Skull and Bones' £70 price tag by saying it's a "quadruple-A" live-service game

In a statement that I can only refer to as "confident," Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot has attempted to justify the high cost of Skull and Bones by calling it a "quadruple-A" project.

Skull and Bones, the Assassin's Creed 4 pseudo-spin-off all about being a pirate, is a pretty typical-looking live service title that will also apparently cost £70. Up against the likes of free-to-play games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite, as well as the much cheaper (and much better looking) Sea of Thieves, this does not seem like a recipe for success. As reported by Eurogamer, during a recent Q&A session at a conference call for Ubisoft's Q3 sales for the fiscal year 2024, Guillemot touched on the topic of Skull and Bones' cost, saying, "You will see that Skull and Bones is a full-fledged game.

"It's a very big game and we feel that people will really see how vast and complete that game is. So it's a really full triple-A, quadruple-A game that will deliver in the long run." Honestly, I'm not exactly confident in a game that's been delayed more times than I can keep count of, and is reportedly only continuing to be made because of subsidies it took from the Singaporean government (which Ubisoft declined to comment on). But sure, £70 for a supposedly "quadruple-A" game that will also seek to take your money in other, longer-term ways on top of that, why not!

Anyway, after an 11-year-long development period, the game is finally releasing next week, February 16, assuming no further delays, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Ubisoft outlined its year one roadmap for the game last month, promising things like legendary pirate lords across four seasons of content. Now we just have to see if it, alongside Suicide Squad, is spelling the end of the live service craze.