'Skull And Bones' by Ubisoft Expands on Pirate Fantasy From 'Assassin's Creed'
"Skull and Bones" may look like it came straight out of a trailer for "Assassin's Creed III" or "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag," but Ubisoft assured fans that the new game will be a brand new IP, as the company revealed the naval warfare game during the Electronic Entertainment Expo last month.
The title was a surprise hit during Ubisoft's E3 2017 presentation, as the company clearly looks to build on the positive reception to the naval battles first introduced in "Assassin's Creed III."
Fans and members of the media were curious, however, about Ubisoft's decision to make "Skull and Bones" a stand-alone franchise, disconnected from the storyline of their immensely popular "Assassin's Creed" series.
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Olivier de Rotalier, managing director for Ubisoft Singapore, noted how the scope of the game could eventually go well beyond what was first added to the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. "After Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, [we wanted] to stay in the pirate fantasy and to make it bigger and stronger," de Rotalier said in an interview with Gamespot.
The prototype that Ubisoft Singapore made for naval warfare battles was "probably quite far from what Assassin's Creed want to do at the time," the managing director added.
Given this new direction, Ubisoft decided to make "Skull and Bones" its own franchise, separate from "Assassin's Creed" and wholly focused on the naval and pirate fantasy aspect of that time period.
Ubisoft Chief Executive Officer Yves Guillemot agreed that the decision made sure that the team has all the leeway they could ever want to take the game in a whole new direction. "We didn't want the limits--creating a new IP gives you the chance to do whatever you want. It's a way to get more freedom," he stated.
Meanwhile, the response to "Skull and Bones" have been unprecedented, according to the Ubisoft CEO. Fans have been registering in droves to receive new updates from the game's website.
The video below shows off some pre-rendered scenes from the game as Ubisoft announced "Skull and Bones" during E3 2017.
