Yarrr! Windose by Kraken Express has sold over a million copies in just six days. This open-world survival adventure, set in the age of pirates, has enjoyed a successful Early Access launch. But what makes the game so captivating?
Open-world survival games are a popular genre, especially on PC, and can generate millions in sales if they have that special something extra – and if the game concept is well executed and there's plenty to do. Examples include Valheim with its idyllic Viking world, Palworld with its wacky monster-catching ideas, Enshrouded with its vast terraforming possibilities, Raft with its floating raft anchor point, Conan Exiles with its well-known licence and slaves, Subnautica with its underwater exploration and Grounded with its creative world where players are shrunk to insect size. While the basic concepts are similar, each game clearly stands out from the others.
Windrose succeeds in doing just that: it is fully dedicated to the age of sailing and an alternative Age of Piracy (Year 17XX), attempting to fill the gap left by the popular Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag within the open-world survival crafting genre, featuring co-op multiplayer as befits the genre. Meanwhile, Ubisoft is banking on classic single-player action-adventure gameplay with its Black Flag remake, having failed to achieve the same level of success with Skull & Bones. However, the enduring popularity of Sea of Thieves also demonstrates the potential of this scenario.
Windrose can be played either solo offline or in co-op mode with up to eight friends. Self-hosted and dedicated servers are both available. However, due to performance issues, particularly in the late stages of the game, the developers recommend playing in a party of up to four players to ensure the best possible experience. Windrose offers a pure PvE experience with shared quest progress, making it easier to play with others. The game begins in a classic way, with the creation of a character who is killed at sea but, thanks to an artefact, survives and ends up shipwrecked on an island. From there, the classic 'build, craft, survive' formula begins.
Players collect resources from the environment, craft simple materials, set up camp, explore the area and fight enemies. Initially, players only have access to basic materials and products. As more is explored over time, metals and other materials are added, enabling better equipment to be crafted. Initially, the player's base is a simple shelter, but it can then be developed into elaborate mansions and fully developed forts. The building system is well designed, varied and accessible. Those with little interest in customising their base in detail can do so quickly with prebuilt structures, while those who like to express their creativity through different building styles will also be satisfied. Additionally, NPCs can be recruited to expand the settlement and speed up harvesting and production.
Windose © Kraken Express
On land, players encounter a variety of enemies, including bosses, in Souls-lite-style combat. There are light and heavy attacks (with heavy attacks causing stun), combo options to chain together different strikes, as well as parrying and dodging mechanics (marked with visual indicators). Battles are fought with sabres, rapiers, halberds, greatswords, pistols, muskets and more — a robust mix of melee and ranged combat, which blends well since ammunition is in short supply. Added to this are flexible loadouts with armour sets and options to customise one's playstyle through talents. However, before battles, it is a good idea to use food and potions to gain powerful buffs — otherwise, players will quickly fall behind, as food in particular provides a significant stat boost. Battles are challenging, particularly when playing solo, since stronger opponents require players to 'learn' the patterns of boss attacks or abilities. If a player is defeated by an opponent, they drop their inventory and must retrieve it, but they retain their equipped weapons and gear. Hopefully, a respawn tent has been set up beforehand.
Windose © Kraken Express
No pirate game would be complete without sailing, and this is also a major part of the fun in Windrose. Players can travel the seas and move seamlessly between ship and shore. There are currently three types of ship with which to explore the procedurally generated map. There, they will discover three biomes featuring main and side quests, crafting recipes, resources, enemies and bosses, scattered across ~30 procedurally generated islands with over 90 hand-crafted points of interest, including dungeons.
While at sea, players can move freely around the ship as the crew sings classic pirate songs — this is where the game truly captures the pirate atmosphere. The controls are fairly straightforward and arcade-style, similar to those in Black Flag. During voyages between islands in search of new resources and treasures, naval battles will inevitably ensue — and these are well executed, thanks to practical simplifications such as cannons with cooldowns and handy aiming aids for broadsides. Depending on the ammunition used, ships can also be slowed down. It is possible to customise the ship to suit different play styles, ranging from a nimble ketch to a versatile brig and a massive frigate. Once an enemy ship has been defeated, players can board it and engage the crew. Later on, voyages can be replaced with fast-travel points if necessary.
Windose © Kraken Express
The game is designed to be user-friendly and time-efficient, with plenty of features that save time. For example, ships have reverse gear and can stay in place without dropping anchor, and it is possible to summon the ship to the player's location. For instance, if a player has landed on the eastern side of an island, explored it, looted it and defeated all the enemies, and is now standing at the western end, the ship can be summoned. The player then walks to the coast, swims a short distance and, once close enough, can return to the ship at the press of a button. This saves players from having to go through a number of perhaps cumbersome intermediate steps.
And, of course, Tortuga is an essential location for a game like this. It features various non-player character (NPC) factions, each with their own trading outposts, quest chains and reputation system.
Tortuga in Windose © Kraken Express
The Early Access version is already extensive, offering a main story campaign expected to last 50–70 hours. There are also side quests and plenty to explore. By the way: Questing (both main and side quests, some of which are reminiscent of World of Warcraft's World Quests) and exploration are the only ways to gain experience points for the main character progress. Respecs are free, which encourages experimentation with builds. Alternatively, characters can be made stronger by upgrading weapons and armour. Basic forms of farming and fishing are also included. The developers estimate that the first Early Access version of the game contains around 50 per cent of the content planned for the full release.
"We plan that the full version will have around 50% more content: more biomes, bosses, enemies, ships, loot, etc. The story is supposed to continue, unfolding into an epic adventure with a satisfying finale. That said, we also want to explore additional gameplay systems, not just adding the content into the existing ones." - Kraken Express
This naturally includes balancing updates, which the game still lacks in some areas. Additionally, the game world could certainly be made to feel a bit more lively, but this is an aspect that can still be addressed. The developers estimate that the Early Access phase could last between one and a half to two and a half years. Console versions are planned, but not before the end of the Early Access period. Incidentally: Before the Early Access launch, the game was on over 1.5 million wishlists.
Windose © Kraken Express
The game is being developed by Kraken Express, formerly Windrose Crew. Originally titled Crosswind, the game was planned as a free-to-play MMO featuring survival-lite elements with both PvE and PvP. However, this concept was scrapped following alpha testing due to technical challenges, among other reasons, and the team shifted their focus to a premium product centred on classic survival gameplay with PvE co-op at its core. Specific details about the team are scarce, but rumours suggest that the company is based in Uzbekistan. It consists of around 60 people plus outsourced staff. The publishing producer previously worked at Lesta Studio in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In Japan, the game is distributed by Pocketpair Publishing, the publishing label of Pocketpair (Palworld).
Windrose was released on 14 April 2026 for PC via Early Access on Steam, Epic Games and Stove, priced at €29.99.
Valheim meets Black Flag. Windrose is great open-world pirate survival adventure with a surprisingly large amount of content for an Early Access game, not to mention many well-designed, convenient features that enhance the gameplay experience. It's a strong start to the Early Access journey!
