Skull and Bones – All editions, pre-order bonuses, and info you landlubbers need ahead of release

Oh, how we have waited for Skull and Bones. So long in fact even the most faithful doubted it would ever make it to the shore. It looks like it has however, and within a couple of weeks we could well all be knee-deep in the bilge in Ubisoft’s amazing-looking pirate adventure. 

February 16th is the date for your calendar and if you don’t know much about Skull and Bones yet, then think Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but just the cool shippy bits.

Which version of Skull and Bones should you get?

It comes in two flavors, the Standard and Premium. Standard is coming in at $59.99/£49.99 and gets your base game. If you pre-order it then you get the pre-order bonus as well (see below) as you might expect.

The Premium Edition ($89.99/£74.99) will bag you the base version of the game alongside three days of early access (starts February 13th) along with the cosmetics listed below:

• Ashen Corsair Ship Set
• Bloody Bones Captain Outfit
• 11 ship items

You also get two missions, The Ashen Corsair and the Bloody Bones Legacy, which presumably will tie in with the above cosmos, and completing these missions will get you some more unlockables.

You also get the Smuggler’s Pass which is Skull and Bones’ name for a Battle Pass, as well as the obligatory Soundtrack and Digital Art Book.

Is Skull and Bones on Ubisoft +?

The quick answer is yes it is. Ubisoft changed all its subscription models earlier this week and promised that not only will you get all the games on Day One, but they are the Premium versions as well, so you should get all the above as long as you sub to the Ubisoft + Premier tier, which means you will be playing for £14.99/$17.99 per month)

What is the Skull and Bone pre-order bonus?

If you pre-order Skull and Bones you will get some cosmetics including the Notoriet Garb and Coronation Firework as part of the Highness of the High Sea pack.

We think Skull and Bones is going to be huge and cannot wait to get our hands on it soon.

Paul McNally

Gaming Editor

Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title published by IDG Media.

Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020.

Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. He is obsessed with 3D printing and has worked with several major brands in the past to create content

Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm. Reach out on X.