Windrose: A Pirate’s Tale is The New Indie Hit, Reaching Peak of 69,000 Concurrent Players

If you enjoy independent indie game coverage, consider supporting Indie-Games.eu on Patreon. It helps keep the site independent.

Although this kind of success was anticipated, mainly because of the strong reception that Windrose: A Pirate’s Tale received during the latest Steam Next Fest, the project also got an extra boost from publisher Pocketpair, the studio behind the viral hit Palworld. The game entered Early Access on Steam this Tuesday and, within just the first few hours after release, recorded an impressive 69,000 concurrent players.

For comparison, Ubisoft’s long-awaited project Skull and Bones reached only around 2,615 concurrent players on the same platform, despite years of development and strong marketing support. Meanwhile, Windrose: A Pirate’s Tale offers a rich combination of systems: from open-world exploration and crafting to base building, naval battles, and PvE survival mechanics, all set in an alternative pirate-themed world. Additional depth comes from a combat system inspired by soulslike games. On top of that, the title can be played solo, offline, or cooperatively with up to four players, and it also includes support for dedicated servers.

The main campaign lasts between 50 and 70 hours, and Pocketpair has already confirmed long-term support throughout the Early Access period, which could last up to two years. During that time, they plan to regularly expand the content and improve the game based on player feedback.

Early player impressions have been very positive so far, with ratings ranging between 84 and 91 percent. The highest praise has been directed at the exploration, crafting system, and cooperative experience, while criticism has mostly focused on the need for additional balancing and combat improvements.