'Skull and Bones' has been pushed back again to 2024.

Ubisoft has announced, due to “major challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-lasting titles”, it has been forced to delay the pirate game once again.

The firm insists more time is needed to ensure the game is “a much more polished and balanced experience and to build awareness."

The developer has also cancelled a further three unannounced games, adding to the four binned last year.

The game was expected on March 9, 2023.

The action-adventure title was first announced five years ago at Ubisoft’s 2017 E3 press conference.

In June, it was revealed that the game had been given a mature rating.

A summary noted that the game features depictions of corpses and brothels, as well as occasional bad language.

It read: "Some territories depict corpses impaled on spikes or hanging from nooses; beaches may depict corpses and large bloodstains in the aftermath of battle.

"Settlements occasionally contain brothels and prostitutes that call out to players when approached (e.g., 'Come spend your coin all over me'; 'The price of my a*se goes up tomorrow, so buy a piece today!').

"Players can also engage in quests to bring poppies to opium dens, which are depicted with patrons lying on couches smoking pipes. The words 'f***' and 's****' appear in the dialogue."