Report: Skull and Bones attracted just 850k players in its first week, less than other major 2024 releases
Ubisoft has yet to disclose official figures for Skull and Bones, its new pirate action title that suffered from exhausting and troubled development. But a new report sheds light on the game’s not-so-impressive player count.
- A few anonymous sources told Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson that Skull and Bones currently has roughly 850k players.
- This figure also includes those who have tried the game’s eight-hour free trial, meaning its pure sales are even weaker.
- The only positive sign is that engagement is quite high, with players spending an average of three to four hours in Skull and Bones a day.
- One developer who worked on the game noted that the main problem with low player count is the game’s $70 price: “I think we all know this is a $30-$40 game at best, but it’s not in our control to determine those things.”
Launched on February 16, Skull and Bones received mixed reviews on Metacritic, with its average critic score ranging from 57 (PC) to 64 (PS5). Player reception has been even worse — 3.5/10.
The game debuted at #4 on the UK Boxed Charts, with its physical sales less than 25% of Sea of Thieves’ launch. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot calling it a “quadruple-A game” worth $70 also added fuel to the fire, causing many players online to disagree with such statements.
Skull and Bones compared to other 2024 games
The beginning of 2024 was surprisingly filled with many high-quality and successful games. And Skull and Bones’ reported 850k players look gloomy compared to other releases, from $70 AAA titles to much cheaper indie projects:
- Palworld — 1 million copies sold in eight hours (over 25 million players across Steam and Xbox, as of February 22);
- Tekken 8 — 2 million copies sold in less than a month;
- Persona 3 — 1 million copies sold in its first week;
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — 1 million copies sold in its first week;
- Granblue Fantasy: Relink — 1 million copies sold in 11 days;
- Enshrouded — 1 million players in four days (2 million copies sold in less than a month);
- Helldivers 2 — 1 million copies sold in less than a week.
Skull and Bones was in development for more than a decade, changing its creative direction multiple times and, according to Henderson, ballooning its budget to $200 million. All these factors make it nearly impossible for Ubisoft to recoup its investment.
