Forget Black Flag Resynced, A New Pirate Game Is Available Now (& Has Co-Op)

A remake of Ubisoft’s beloved pirate game, called Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced, was quietly confirmed after numerous rumors, but it hasn’t been officially unveiled, so the wait continues. Black Flag Resynced will reportedly be revealed soon, but those interested in setting sail right away might want to check out a brand-new pirate game that has just become available.

Windrose just entered early access on Steam, and is getting a lot of positive initial buzz. Developed and self-published by Kraken Express (with some help from Palworld developer Pocketpair), Windrose is a swashbuckling survival adventure game that can be played solo or in groups of up to four players. Windrose is getting a lot of comparisons to Ubisoft’s less successful pirate game, the infamous Skull and Bones, and is being praised for its breadth of content and systems, even as an incomplete early access title.

Windrose Just Released In Steam Early Access

Screenshot showing a Windrose character piloting a ship while cannons are firing at an adjacent one.

Windrose early access began on April 14, 2026, and launches with two editions, both of which are 10% off for a week. Just the game itself is currently going for $26.99 (full price, $29.99), but there’s also a Supporter Bundle to pitch in a little extra for Windrose‘s continued development. On sale for $35.98 (normally $39.98), the Windrose Supporter Bundle comes with the game’s original soundtrack – ambient gameplay tracks and sea shanties – and a curated selection of PC, tablet, and phone wallpapers.

A standout feature of Windrose is its co-op, the endgame balance of which the developers have noted works best with four players. Beyond multiplayer, though, Windrose is a compelling hodge-podge of gameplay, boasting “soulslite” combat (complete with boss fights), gradual survival game progression, crafting, base building, and, of course, naval battles. Like survival peer Valheim (which is on its way to the Nintendo Switch 2), Windrose features procedurally generated maps with multiple diverse biomes.

Early User Reviews Are “Very Positive”

Windrose screenshot of a character walking through a pirate town in the rain.

It may be too early to judge Windrose completely, but the first wave of early access reviews are very promising. At the time of writing, Windrose has achieved a Very Positive designation on Steam, with 88% of its user reviews recommending the pirate game. Many who praise the game compare it to others in the build/craft/survive niche, like Valheim and Enshrouded, while those who don’t recommend Windrose cite various bugs and some early-game balance issues in single-player.

There’s a long road ahead for Windrose, since like many small development houses, Kraken Express has chosen to release it as a work in progress. Only time will tell how it ends up, but it seems to be an impressive co-op piracy experience so far. Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced is sure to draw a lot of attention back to pirate games, but Windrose offers a different take on the genre, and is off to a very strong start.