Despite a few disappointing delays, 2022 has been a pretty great year for video game releases. The start of the year sawPokemon Legends: Arceus,Kirby and the Forgotten Land,Horizon Forbidden West, andElden Ringrelease, and though the summer months haven’t been quite as stacked, there have still been a ton of new releases, ranging from big AAA games likeMario Strikers: Battle Leagueto Indie darlings likeCult of the LambandRollerdrome. As the industry looks forward to the rest of the year, a few big names stand out, but two of which,Sonic FrontiersandSkull and Bones, stand out for the wrong reasons.
On paper,Sonic FrontiersandSkull and Boneshave absolutely nothing in common. Developed by Sega and Ubisoft respectively,Sonic Frontiersis an open-world (ish) 3DSonictitle, andSkull and Bonesis a ship-based naval game, focused on online multiplayer. However, digging a little deeper, the two big-name titles do have a few things in common, one of them being an extremely unfortunate release date.
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Skull and Bones And Sonic Frontiers Share An Unfortunate Release Date
Despite delays on both parts,Skull and BonesandSonic Frontiersare now both slated fora November 8 release date. Though the first week of November does have a few scheduled releases, it’s nothing for either of these big-budget titles to worry about, with the strategy simHumankindbeing the biggest name on the slate. However, the same can’t be said for the rest of November.
Just a week afterSonic FrontiersandSkull and Bonesreleases,Obsidian Entertainment’s bold new titlePentimentis set to release, which is sure to be a hit for Xbox and PC Game Pass. After that,Goat Simulator 3lands, followed swiftly byPokemon Scarlet and Violet, which is one of the most anticipated games of the year. On the same day asPokemon, the newDark Pictures Anthologychapter,The Devil In Me, releases. For those looking to save their money,Sonic FrontiersandSkull and Bonesmay not be on the priority list for November, and that’s not even to mention the games' biggest competition.
On November 9, just one day afterSkull and BonesandSonic Frontierslaunch,Santa Monica’sGod of War Ragnarokis slated to release. As far as highly anticipated games go, this year doesn’t get much bigger thanGod of War Ragnarok, the desperately-awaited sequel to the critically-adored 2018God of Warreboot. WhileSonic FrontiersandSkull and Bonesmay have their own inflated budgets and high level of production value, both are instantly overshadowed byGod of War Ragnarok’s release just a day later.
If this wasn’t bad enough, it’s also the case that fan-opinion surrounding bothSkull and BonesandSonic Frontiersis a little divided, to say the least.Skull and Boneshas been in development since 2013, and has been fully restarted at least once. With its development issues being public knowledge, a good deal of gamers are already convinced thatSkull and Bonesis going to be a flop on arrival.Sonic Frontiers, on the other hand, is receiving a bit more of a mixed reception from audiences. While some fans are loving the look ofSonic Frontiers' open-zone approach and new combat systems, others are skeptical on just how fleshed-out these systems will actually be in the full release. So, even ifGod of War Ragnarokwasn’t looming threateningly overhead,Skull and BonesandSonic Frontierswould still have an uphill battle to fight, but it is a fight that both games share.
Skull and Bonesreleases on November 8 for Luna, PC, PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X/S.
Sonic Frontierswill launch on November 8 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
