Despite a few disappointing delays, 2022 has been a pretty great year for video game releases. The start of the year saw Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Horizon Forbidden West, and Elden Ring release, 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 like Mario Strikers: Battle League to Indie darlings like Cult of the Lamb and Rollerdrome. As the industry looks forward to the rest of the year, a few big names stand out, but two of which, Sonic Frontiers and Skull and Bones, stand out for the wrong reasons.
On paper, Sonic Frontiers and Skull and Bones have absolutely nothing in common. Developed by Sega and Ubisoft respectively, Sonic Frontiers is an open-world (ish) 3D Sonic title, and Skull and Bones is 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.
Skull and Bones And Sonic Frontiers Share An Unfortunate Release Date
Despite delays on both parts, Skull and Bones and Sonic Frontiers are now both slated for a 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 sim Humankind being the biggest name on the slate. However, the same can't be said for the rest of November.
Just a week after Sonic Frontiers and Skull and Bones releases, Obsidian Entertainment's bold new title Pentiment is set to release, which is sure to be a hit for Xbox and PC Game Pass. After that, Goat Simulator 3 lands, followed swiftly by Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which is one of the most anticipated games of the year. On the same day as Pokemon, the new Dark Pictures Anthology chapter, The Devil In Me, releases. For those looking to save their money, Sonic Frontiers and Skull and Bones may 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 after Skull and Bones and Sonic Frontiers launch, Santa Monica's God of War Ragnarok is slated to release. As far as highly anticipated games go, this year doesn't get much bigger than God of War Ragnarok, the desperately-awaited sequel to the critically-adored 2018 God of War reboot. While Sonic Frontiers and Skull and Bones may have their own inflated budgets and high level of production value, both are instantly overshadowed by God of War Ragnarok's release just a day later.
If this wasn't bad enough, it's also the case that fan-opinion surrounding both Skull and Bones and Sonic Frontiers is a little divided, to say the least. Skull and Bones has 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 that Skull and Bones is 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 of Sonic 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 if God of War Ragnarok wasn't looming threateningly overhead, Skull and Bones and Sonic Frontiers would still have an uphill battle to fight, but it is a fight that both games share.
Skull and Bones releases on November 8 for Luna, PC, PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X/S.
Sonic Frontiers will launch on November 8 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.