Skull and Bones as the first "AAAA" game: Ubisoft justifies high price by inventing a new level of quality

After an 11-year development phase, the long-awaited pirate MMO Skull and Bones (available for pre-order here on Amazon) will finally be released on February 16 - at the full price of 70 us-dollar. During a Q&A session on the publication of the quarterly figures, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was asked the legitimate question of why the game is being offered at full price when it would have a better chance of appealing to the masses as a free-to-play game. Guillemot has a clear answer to this: a free-to-play release is out of the question, because Skull and Bones is not a AAA game, but a "AAAA" game and worth its price.

Justified conviction or arrogant recklessness?

The open beta of Skull and Bones, which ended on February 11, has led to mixed opinions among players. On Reddit the general game mechanics were criticized - including the lack of a real sailing mechanic or the lack of animation when boarding other ships.

The fact that the game takes place almost exclusively on the ship also does not seem to please the fans very much. Although players can go ashore with their captain, they can do nothing there other than change his clothes or walk around the world. In view of current opinions on the game, Guillemot's statements do not appear to be justified. However, there are also positive voices: Players praise the ship battles and the loot system, among other things. Whether Skull and Bones can live up to its self-proclaimed status as an AAAA game will become clear from February 16.

Is there another reason for the full price?

If Skull and Bones isn't as good as it's claimed to be, the question naturally arises as to what the real reason is for Ubisoft to offer the game at full price. You might think it's obvious: the development of the game has swallowed up a lot of money since 2013 - and Ubisoft wants to recoup this as quickly as possible. Only with microtransactions, which have already been confirmed for Skull and Bones, this would probably take much longer. However, if only a few players are willing to pay the full price in view of the current reviews, this could backfire.