While some of you might have a "sinking feeling" about Ubisoft's Skull and Bones, we're told this nautical homage to Assassin's Creed is still coming. More than this, the developer promises it's looking better than ever.

During the question and answer portion of the recent Ubisoft quarterly financial call, CFO Frederick Duguet revealed that there's a secret, "improved version," that the public is yet to see. 

Ubisoft Has A Secret Skull & Bones Version No One Has Seen

To put it bluntly, Skull & Bones has been through development hell, with frequent delays over the years worrying Ubisoft executives and even the most excited of fans. It doesn't help that when it finally got a gameplay reveal - nine years after it first started development - the reception was lukewarm at best. 

However, there may be some bright news on the horizon, as according to PCGamer, there is a secret version that looks to be much better. During the recent Ubisoft quarterly financial call, an investment analyst queried Duguet about what projected sales were required for the game to turn a profit.

The analyst even followed up the question, stating, "I'm asking because I've seen the reviews and they don't look particularly strong."

There are no formal reviews for the game yet, so the analyst was likely referring to the response from the press and consumers to the game's first showing or the subsequent developer stream in January. However, it certainly highlights the lack of confidence surrounding Skull & Bones. 

In response to the question, Duguet stated, "We said in January, we've been very happy with the playtest that we've seen in early January, so we have a very strong improved version to show to players that they haven't seen yet.

"This is really what we are going to leverage in the next month to drive more momentum to the game".  While we need to take the word of a company man with a grain of salt, it could indicate that headway has finally been made in developing the game. 

When Is Skull And Bones Set To Release?

Ubisoft refused to clarify exactly what Duguet meant when he talked about leveraging this secret version in the next month, but it does sound like they are set to ramp up marketing as the release window approaches. 

There's still no exact date, but the most recent delay saw it pushed back to the 2023-24 fiscal year, meaning it could launch anywhere between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. That's assuming there are no more issues with development. 

If Ubisoft does finally feel confident enough to start showing off the game more, it's a good sign that they have an internal release date they're trying to hit, but we'll have to see if this "improved version" lives up to the claim.