Back in 2013, the Ubisoft did the impossible. It released an Assassin's Creed game that was better than Assassin's Creed 2. The problem was Black Flag's best bits - its oceanic sailing and ship duels, to name but a few - were nothing to do with AC.
Dial ahead four years and it turns out Ubisoft has tasked Ubisoft Singapore - a studio that's worked in support on quite a few Assassin's Creeds and the free-to-play Ghost Recon Phantoms on PC - with creating a multiplayer experience that takes everything that made Black Flag a classic.
So now we have Skull & Bones, an online persistent ocean filled with upgradeable ships, hidden treasure and armadas and alliances that change in the blink of an eye.
It'll be a PvP experience, with players fighting one another full hulls full of treasure, as well as attacking or protecting NPC ships. Set in 1791 during the Golden Age of Piracy, Ubisoft Singapore promises a huge level of customisation and a large selection of galleons, frigates and Man O Wars to choose from.
A lot of mechanics, including the ship movement and the cannon-based combat looks like its riffing on those found in Black Flag. That's no bad thing, we're just hoping Ubi Singapore is bringing something new to four-year-old mechanics.
Skull & Bones is coming to Xbox One, Xbox One X, PS4, PS4 Pro and PC in the autumn of 2018.
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