After numerous delays and rumors of behind-the-scenes turmoil, Ubisoft finally announced a 2022 release date for their open-world pirate game Skull and Bones earlier this summer. It almost felt too good to be true, and well, it turns out it was. Today, Ubisoft announced Skull and Bones is being pushed back yet again, to March 2023, but players will get a chance to test out the game in the interim via an open beta.

　　“Ahoy there, privateers. Our team is hard at work polishing and balancing the experience ahead of the worldwide launch. As a result, we’ve made the tough decision to move our release date to March of 2023. We’re very eager for you all to get your hands on Skull and Bones and dive in headfirst to the dangerous and exciting world of building your own pirate empire. To give you the best possible experience we’ve decided to take a little more time to make sure we can deliver exactly that.

　　For the most eager of you, we are also very happy to announce that we will hold an open beta of the game in the near future. We’ll share more news on how you can sign up to register soon, so keep your spyglasses trained on our social media for more news and announcements.”

　　Considering Skull and Bones open-world multiplayer focus, it definitely seemed like they were releasing it a bit suddenly. This is the kind of game you want to test pretty thoroughly (it sounds like the game’s closed technical test didn’t go as smoothly as Ubisoft was hoping).

　　Skull and Bones launches on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Stadia, and Luna on March 9, 2023. A date has not been provided for the open beta yet. What do you think? Can Ubisoft pull this project together over the next six months?