Ubisoft confirms that Skull and Bones will have a single-player 'narrative campaign'

Ubisoft said when it announced the high-seas swashbuckling sim Skull and Bones that the game will support both solo and co-op play—"Raid the Hunting Grounds alone or group with other players to hunt larger prey," to be precise—but the focus was clearly on the multiplayer side of things. For those of you who don't like to share the booty, or get ganked by tricked-out frigates, there will be a proper single-player campaign included as well. 

"[Skull and Bones] will offer a narrative campaign which will be integrated into the game and will not be something aside of the multiplayer experience. In this campaign, players will encounter iconic characters and memorable rival pirates. More details will be shared at a later date," a rep said. 

As for the E3 demo, "We only showed Loot Hunt, one of our PvP modes in Disputed Waters," the rep continued. "We like to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we have to show for Skull & Bones." 

Skull and Bones sounds like it could be a lot of fun: Tim described that demo as "charging around the sea, swinging your ship about to deliver spectacular volleys of cannon fire, and using your ram like an enraged narwhal" in his E3 preview, and that absolutely sounds like my kind of nautical videogame. But gamers cannot live on multiplayer alone, and since Sid Meier doesn't seem likely to return to this particular sub-genre anytime soon, I'm glad that Ubisoft is picking up the slack. Skull and Bones is due to set sail in the fall of 2018. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.