Assassin's Creed Black Flag Rival Sets April Launch Date Just Days Away

It's been some time since we've had a bountiful buccaneer that lived up to the legacy set by Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.

While Sea of Thieves rode the stormy waves of the pirate-themed open-world multiplayer genre, Skull and Bones crashed like a shipwreck, leaving a hole in the industry for the next Jack Sparrow-like adventures.

In a bid to provide me-hearties with their latest booty, Windrose caused a splash with its trailer at February's Steam Next festival, and now the survival PvE title will be docking on your PCs as early as next week.

You Are The Captain, Now

Having gone through a rebrand following testing, originally being pitched as an MMO named Crosswind, Windrose has pivoted to a smaller-scale survival game, taking the best elements from the likes of Sea of Thieves and Rust to become the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag sequel that we never got.

While the hardcore survival elements have been toned down from initial playtests, players will be exploring the high seas with ship-on-ship fights, clashing cravats with Souls-esque combat, adventuring in deep caverns, plundering fruitful rewards, and growing their pirate empire.

Pocket Pair Publishing

With the ability to play with up to four co-op players, or in a single-player run, Windrose landlubbers can gather materials to build their own fleet, while recruiting a loyal NPC crew to dominate the lawless world.

Already, the title has grown a large reputation, as a six-hour gameplay demo was launched with a massive 94% posititve rating.

But there's plenty more to plunder when the game releases in full.

Ready The Masts

With winter proving to be a bore, dreams of escaping to the Caribbean islands are just days away, as the immersive survival title is set to release in Early Access on April 14, 2026.

Windrose Crew claims the game will boast between 50 and 70 hours of content scattered across 30 islands with three different biomes. A full version of the game is set to arrive after roughly two years, doubling the content and offering a 'satisfying' finale that long-time players will enjoy.

Priced at $29.99 on Steam, the sea shanties alone will have you reaping the rewards of your invested doubloons.

But, if you're still not sold on this heave-ho of a title, Steam's catalogue of titles is also offering up a free Baldur's Gate 3 and Dark Souls lovechild that might have you all hands on deck.