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- Recently, a rumor surfaced online stating that Skull and Bones’ first AAAA title cost $650 million to $850 million.
- Ubisoft spending such an amount on a game seems absolutely ridiculous to me, but given the state of the company, it doesn’t seem too unrealistic.
- Due to multiple large-scale failures, the company is in pretty bad condition and is likely to be acquired by Tencent now.
Skull and Bones went through many hurdles during development as it was delayed multiple times. However, fans were still optimistic, as waiting for a game is better than a faulty and underwhelming launch.
However, little did the fandom know that the release was pretty underwhelming, and many were questioning what exactly Ubisoft did during the end of the development period. It didn’t completely flop, but the sales didn’t meet expectations, and that is pretty obvious why.
However, a recent rumour stated that Skull and Bones cost around $650-$850 million, which is absolutely ridiculous.
Why it matters: Ubisoft called this pirate game its first-ever AAAA game, so it kind of makes sense why fans would have high expectations or why its budget would be so high.
Skulls and Bones Costing $850 Million Doesn’t Make Sense
Recently, it was revealed that Sony spent $400 million on Concord. While it was just a rumor, given how long it was in development and how long the end credits were, it makes sense for the title to cost this much.
However, I don’t understand how this underwhelming pirate game can cost such a massive amount of money to develop. Yes, Ubisoft did say that it is a AAAA game, and it took over a decade to develop it; the $850 million figure just seems too much.
I wouldn’t be that surprised if it was true but spending so much on a single game is such a waste. For reference, games like Red Dead Redemption 2 are estimated to cost between $370 million and $540 million.
However, Rockstar recouped all of that budget and even made some hefty profits. RDR2 is currently the 7th best-selling game of all time, so it is understandable why such a massive amount was spent on it.
On the other hand, Skull and Bones is said to be a failure, which is the main reason why Ubisoft is on the verge of closure. The company hasn’t even revealed how many copies it sold, and it already has been 8 months since it was released.
This shows that the sales were indeed poor and didn’t meet expectations at all. The game also received a 30% price cut just after 2 weeks, and it fell to $20 after 3 months.
If It’s True, Then Ubisoft is Bound To Fall
With how things have been with Ubisoft, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that it spent a whopping $850 million on such a game. The company didn’t even think that it was going to fail as Skull and Bones was being called the first-ever AAAA game.
The game didn’t even have good voice lines, appealing characters, proper boarding, and sword combat. It wasn’t even a good pirate game, so how did the higher-ups say it is AAAA game material? To me, that doesn’t make any sense at all.
The company’s stock price gradually fell through the floor, and it is now likely to be acquired by Tencent. So, Ubisoft is not in a very good condition at all. However, a company can’t be in such a situation with just a few failed releases, which means spending around $850 on its first AAAA game doesn’t seem too unrealistic.
The damage was being built up, and after a series of failures of such titles costing the publisher a fortune, it is in a condition from where it is unlikely to go back. This totally makes sense, but I still don’t get why the company would spend such a huge amount of money on this game; it literally baffles me.
If It’s Not GTA 6, It Doesn’t Make Sense
The previously leaked documents revealed that the budget to develop GTA 6 is around $2 billion. Now, I don’t find it hard to believe, as Rockstar has made a lot from the GTA franchise, and the expectations for the next entry are just way too high.
Everyone, including me, is expecting the game to have mind-boggling features. Rockstar is likely to meet the fans’ expectations, and with that budget, it is more likely to do so. Now, this seems doable, and the budget doesn’t seem like that much because it is GTA 6, right?
I am not saying it is justified to have such budgets for video, but just compare the hype and anticipation to the legendary AAAA game Skulls and Bones; that is my point.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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