Pirates versus space marines, who would win? At least on Twitch we got an answer to that recently

Ubisoft’s new pirate game Skull and Bones went into open beta on February 8 and aroused great expectations, not least due to CEO Yves Guillemot’s comments. On Twitch, however, a completely different game dominated the release and gave Ubisoft’s new hopeful a full broadside right at the start.

Started strong, slowed down a lot

After Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during a meeting that Skull and Bones was not just a game, but an AAAA game, the expectations for the pirate game were probably so high that it could only shipwreck

It’s a very big game and we think people will really see how comprehensive and complete this game is. It’s really a full-fledged triple… quadruple-A game that will be compelling in the long run. -Yves Guillemot

On February 8, the time had finally come and a ten-year odyssey was over for the time being. After a number of postponed dates, the open beta of Skull and Bones was launched and even managed to reach a peak of over 88,000 concurrent viewers on Twitch

Big English-speaking streamers like Shroud or LIRIK gave the pirate game a chance, at least briefly, only to mutiny a few hours later and swap it for the surprise hit on Steam Helldivers 2 

It was the same co-op shooter that really spoiled Skull and Bones’ first caper on Twitch. Although it was barely advertised in contrast to Ubisoft’s free-for-all adventure, it not only recorded more viewers on Twitch (peak: 154,000), but also a significantly higher number of hours watched.

Moderate response

Skull and Bones is not only receiving a moderate response on Twitch, but also on (Reddit) many users are disappointed by the open beta of the supposed “AAAA game”. Many players complain about the lack of a playable character who does more than just steer a ship

You can create a character, but it looks like they only steer the ship.

I’m shocked that there are competing pirate games out there like Sea of Thieves that actually involve character combat, boarding, etc. and Ubisoft makes this garbage…for crying out loud, they could have just taken Black Flag, copied and pasted it.

Even Black Desert, a non-pirate game, is a better pirate game, you can fight at sea, on ships and everything.

As already seen in the Closed Beta in mid-December it turns out that the expectations for the game were much higher than what Ubisoft delivers here. Grandiloquent statements such as those made by CEO Yves Guillemot only add fuel to the fire and understandably cause mockery and derision on social media

It is doubtful whether Skull and Bones can recover from this bumpy start; after all, the game is nearing completion and the developers are unlikely to have much time left to tinker with the core elements of the game.

Ubisoft’s desired concept of a live service game, which is to be supplied with content and generate revenue for years to come, could therefore be more than just in danger.

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