Ubisoft’s Cranium and Bones Will get Open Beta Forward of Launch Date

Cranium and Bones may have an open beta, Ubisoft has introduced. It kicks off throughout all platforms (PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X and S, and Home windows PC by way of the Epic Video games Retailer and the Ubisoft Retailer) on February 8 and runs till February 11.

Within the open beta, gamers can attain the Infamy Cap of Tier 6 and earn as much as 5 unique rewards together with distinctive ship cosmetics, an emote, a weapon, and a Pandal Lemur pet. Development carries over from the beta to the complete recreation, which comes out February 16. Ubisoft+ subscribers get the sport three days early on February 13.  

Asserting a yr’s value of post-launch content material, Ubisoft stated its open-world seafaring recreation will profit from the addition of pirate lords and new world occasions. Take a look at IGN’s Cranium and Bones endgame preview for extra.

Right here’s the official blurb, per Ubisoft:

Gamers will embark on a dangerous journey going through Legendary Pirate Lords like Philippe La Peste and the Hubac Twins. Stirred right into a feeding frenzy, gamers should strategize and defeat these new threats, every escalating in issue. Strategic ship loadouts and seasonal ships and kit shall be key to taking them down within the last showdown on the finish of every season. Put together to broaden and defend your empire by looting stronger gear and precious assets

 by way of new world occasions launched every season. Face Service provider Convoys, Elite Warships, and different predators on the excessive seas. Larger challenges deliver better rewards as you navigate these dynamic and unpredictable waters.

Uncover the extreme endgame of Cranium and Bones, the place you may face extra harmful challenges, greater stakes, and alliances that may remodel into rivalries. Transition from working with Kingpins to changing into their rivals, going through the perilous penalties of the treacherous pirate life. Seize management of The Helm, an unequalled smuggling colossus, and construct your smuggling empire. Management manufactories throughout the Indian Ocean, improve earnings by way of strategic management of commerce routes, and spend money on upgrades in your operations. On prime of those, Legendary Heists and Hostile Takeovers actions additionally add thrilling twists to empire-building, with new finish recreation options launched every season.

Have interaction in precarious PvP actions with high-risk, high-reward Helm Wagers and Cutthroat Cargo. Settle for challenges and legendary treasure maps, which can put a literal goal in your head till you attain the goal outpost. Rise to the highest, and solidify your repute amongst Kingpins, incomes rewards based mostly in your leaderboard placement. Take part in free time-limited occasions every season, collaborate with fellow pirates, full unique neighborhood occasions, and declare treasure troves of loot. The leaderboard resets every season with new rewards, encouraging gamers to repeatedly attempt for the highest.

Cranium and Bones lastly comes out subsequent month after years of improvement hell that’s seen plenty of delays. What started in 2013 as an growth for Murderer’s Creed 4: Black Flag advanced into an MMO spinoff which finally turned the standalone recreation Cranium and Bones.

It was revealed at E3 2017 with an autumn 2018 launch window, although it might miss that window — and lots of others — as a consequence of six delays, finally touchdown on February 16, 2024. Along with modifications in course, Ubisoft attributes the delays to making too many video games without delay. The undertaking has churned by way of three artistic administrators, most just lately dropping Elisabeth Pellen in September.

Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.