“Unleash the Kraken,” Bellows Skull and Bones, Which Somehow Still Exists

Why It Matters

The season aims to revive player interest and justify Ubisoft’s investment in a low‑performing live‑service amid broader cost‑cutting, signaling how publishers balance portfolio risk and revenue streams.

Key Takeaways

• Eye of the Beast adds Kraken boss fight.
• New Corvette ship boosts crew damage.
• Founding Event returns for anniversary rewards.
• Game has ~320 Steam players, 66.6% rating.
• Ubisoft retains project amid broader studio cuts.

Pulse Analysis

Ubisoft’s decision to double‑down on Skull and Bones reflects a broader industry shift toward live‑service models that generate recurring revenue. While many publishers are pruning under‑performing titles, Ubisoft sees value in maintaining a portfolio of open‑world experiences that can be monetized over time. The Kraken‑centric season provides fresh gameplay loops, encouraging both retention and micro‑transaction spend, which helps offset the game’s modest player base and supports the company’s earnings targets during a period of fiscal tightening.

The "Eye of the Beast" update introduces a high‑stakes boss encounter that tests players’ tactical acumen with whirlpools, ink blasts, and toxic fog. Coupled with the Corvette—a large‑class vessel that amplifies crew damage and recovery—the content aims to deepen combat variety and reward progression. The re‑launch of the Founding Event adds nostalgic incentives, granting Frigate ships to participants and creating a limited‑time hook that can spike concurrent users, a crucial metric for live‑service health.

In the competitive pirate‑themed market, Skull and Bones competes directly with titles like Sea of Thieves, which enjoys a larger community and stronger brand loyalty. Ubisoft’s persistence with the title suggests confidence that incremental updates can gradually grow its niche audience and improve its 66.6% rating. For investors, the game serves as a litmus test for Ubisoft’s ability to extract value from long‑tail projects, indicating whether the company can sustain multiple live‑service pipelines without compromising overall profitability.

“Unleash the Kraken,” bellows Skull and Bones, which somehow still exists

Image credit: Ubisoft

I still haven’t left the starting area in Skull and Bones, but it’s a relief to know that as and when I do, I’ll have some big molluscs to bombard alongside those boring galleons. Ubisoft’s open‑world Jolly Rogerer forges bravely on with another season of updates, Eye of the Beast, despite Ubisoft recently jettisoning a bunch of games and studios in their efforts to buoy up the share price. Yes, this is the same Skull and Bones that has 320 in‑game players on Steam as of writing, and a worryingly Biblical user‑review average of 66.60 %.

Eye of the Beast’s star is the Kraken, risen with its unnumber’d and enormous polypi to engage players in multiple‑phase combat. “Outsmart its whirlpools, ink blasts, and toxic fog to claim victory and rich rewards,” urges the game’s Steam page. You may fare better against ol’ Krakdown McGee if you “take command of the mighty Corvette, a powerhouse support ship built to shift the tide of battle.” It’s a new large‑class vessel equipped with a flag‑bearer perk that boosts crew damage and recovery. To mark the game’s anniversary, they’re also bringing back The Founding Event, an opportunity to complete some anniversary challenges and get your hands on a Frigate.

I used to loathe the very thought of Skull and Bones, a live‑service qAAAAgmire that looks like Sea of Thieves with a fraction of the charm. Then I played the prologue and was strangely beguiled. I still think fondly of that opening last‑chance lagoon, with its sunset shipwreck and scattered islets full of marooned, drunken corsairs. I don’t want to get too melodramatic at 9.30 am, but if I die of sudden‑onset scurvy today and wake up in the Skull and Bones tutorial area, I will have few regrets. I will go play the cannon‑firing minigame and spend eternity carousing by the campfire. Beautiful.

I also think fondly of Skull and Bones because right now, Ubisoft is essentially Yves Guillemot and Tencent drinking D’Amalfi Limoncello Supreme in an emerald‑studded crow’s nest above a living life‑raft consisting of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six developers. I’m automatically rooting for any underperforming project that has survived the cull. Picture Skull and Bones clinging grimly to the mast, biting any shareholders who come near. As with the similarly unsinkable Beyond Good and Evil 2, I’m sure there are mundane financial reasons for the game’s ongoing existence. I wonder if it’s got something to do with Ubisoft’s old deal with the Singaporean government. Or maybe it’s just that it squarely fits their professed current focus on live‑service open‑world projects.