Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones Test Footage Got Leaked — What’s the Game Like?

Ubisoft's pirate game, Skull and Bones, is notorious for being in development hell since its announcement during E3 2017. However, that may soon change thanks to a recent leak.

A recent post on the Reddit forum r/GamingLeaksAndRumours came with a link to a four-minute video featuring Skull and Bones' test gameplay, which showcases the game's various mechanics.

The game developer was rumored to feature Skull and Bones, including 19 other games, at a big showcase event or as a separate announcement this year.

Skull and Bones Leaked Gameplay Trailer Details

The leaked gameplay trailer revealed that the game would be set within the Indian ocean during the golden age of piracy. Your character will start as an underdog, an ambitious nobody, if you will, whose goal is to become one of the most infamous pirates ever to set sail in the Indian Ocean.

The trailer explained that you'll start your journey at the pirate port den of Sainte Anne, located in the Red Isle. This place acts as the game's hub where you can take high-risk, high-reward missions, purchase provisions for your journey at sea, craft new equipment and ships, and maybe even meet and interact with other players. You can also customize your character here through Saint Anne's resident atelier.

Visiting one of the many outposts scattered throughout the map allows you to cook food, buy in-game items, and store your cargo. These outposts are considered safe spots, so feel free to take a short break while you're in them.

To become one of the most infamous pirates, you'll have to gain infamy. Infamy, or the game's terms for player level, can be increased through completing contracts, exploring, plundering, treasure hunting, participating in big world events, and other in-game activities.

However, the game's contracts can penalize you should you fail them. Thankfully, certain contracts can be shared with up to three other players if you feel you can't accomplish them alone. Whether these other players will also get the same reward as you or get a share is unclear until Ubisoft announces the game officially.

Provisions, such as rations, water, repair kits, and ammunition, allowing you to keep fighting and maintain your crew's morale, which depletes automatically over time, especially when you're defeated. Should crew morale drop too low and isn't restored in time, your crew will mutiny and take control of your ship.

Getting defeated and having your ship sunk makes you lose infamy and your cargo. However, you can recover at least most of your belongings if you get to your shipwreck fast enough, as other players can steal them if you don't get to them in time.

The game allows you to harvest and process raw materials like wood, ore, and fiber to gain crafting materials, letting you craft better equipment and ships, which come with their unique playstyle. You can also craft furniture for your ship.

You can also hunt wild animals for their skins and meat. Additionally, hunting or harvesting raw materials doesn't seem to be as hands-on as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Players will instead stay on their ships as they hold down a button to harvest raw materials instead of going ashore.

Skull and Bones is a multiplayer-first game, meaning you'll encounter other players as you explore the game's playable areas. Combat seems to be similar to Black Flag, where you can direct when and from which side of your ship can fire broadsides by aiming a crosshair on an enemy ship or player. Sinking them from afar only gives you a portion of the ship's cargo, while boarding maximizes the amount of loot you can acquire.

Finally, Skull and Bones can either be completed solo or with other players. However, it isn't clear if the players you invite to team up are allowed to betray and harm you at any time.

Ubisoft's Teaser

Ubisoft seems to be gearing up for a future reveal that may or may not come in the following months. The game developer tweeted a teaser video featuring a ship sailing away from an island with the caption "Keep your eyes on the horizon" hours after the gameplay trailer was leaked.

If our theory is correct, this teaser could mean that the leaked gameplay trailer could be released sometime in the immediate future. Hopefully, it comes with a definite release date for the game.