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Skull and Bones is free to play, but not for long

Three months after its troubled launch, Ubisoft's first ever quadruple-A game, Skull and Bones, is free to play for an entire week.

An aristocratic man in French period dress smiles, raising his hand as blue confetti drops around him

Despite Skull and Bones‘ middling reviews, the curious side of me wants to see what a supposed ‘quadruple-A’ game looks like. I was never going to plow a ton of cash into it (I like pirates, but not that much), so when Ubisoft announced that its pirate game was going free to play for a full week, I marked an X on my calendar.

As of today, Thursday May 30, Skull and Bones is effectively a free PC game for a limited time only. Whether you’re in the Americas, Asia and Oceania, or Europe, you can dive into Ubisoft’s open-world swashbuckling adventure without dropping a single doubloon.

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Aligning perfectly with Skull and Bones’ new season, Chorus of Havoc, players will be able to try out the base game, as well as all of the latest content.

Centered around the flamboyant Hubac twins, Armand and Bertrand, who have been sent to reclaim the Indian Ocean and send you and your scallywag comrades down to the depths, there are new duels, world events, and the huge new shark boss, Lestari, to contend with.

You can also expect to see extra events, too, including the Summer Fiesta (where you collect booze, what’s not to love?) and the gorgeous Dragon’s Regatta racing event. Ubisoft is also adding fleet management and various different ship upgrades and is said to have improved balance across the board – something that we noted was sorely needed in our Skull and Bones review.

A Skull and Bones infographic for Season 2, Chorus of Havoc

Skull and Bones free week start and end times

Below is a full list of the Skull and Bones free week start and end times per region. Note that this list contains the PC times only.

The Americas

  • Start: Thursday May 30, 9am PST / 12pm EST
  • End: Thursday June 6, 12am PST / 3am EST

Asia and Oceania

  • Start: Friday May 31, 2am AEST
  • End: Thursday June 6, 5pm AEST

Europe

  • Start: Thursday May 30, 5pm BST / 6pm CEST
  • End: Thursday June 6, 8am BST / 9am CEST

If you, like me, are intrigued by Skull and Bones but weren’t keen on dropping wads of cash on it, we have a rundown of the best Skull and Bones ship loadout to help you on your new adventure. Alternatively, if you’re still not sold, we have a list of all the best pirate games that’ll let you live out that Jack Sparrow fantasy.

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