Windrose – the piratical survival game from Kraken Express – has shifted 1m copies in just six days.
The developer shared the latest milestone with a celebratory post, acknowledging the “crew of fine brave captains sailing the seas of Windrose” since the game’s widely-praised early access release last week. It added that not only has the game moved 1m copies, but Windrose also welcomed 200,000 concurrent players.
“Your support for the game is absolutely astonishing, and your patience while we are working on fixes is truly heart-warming. While we keep working on the game, we read your reviews and comments, watch your videos and streams, and sometimes, honestly, shed a pirate-y tear of happiness, because now when the game is out you share our dream of swashbuckling adventure,” Kraken Express wrote in a blog post on Steam. “And there are boars, too, we know, but whatever does not send you flying into the nearest tree, makes you stronger, right?
“Thank you for this, captains. You are our inspiration in this journey, and YARRRRR, that’s going to be an exciting one.”
It shared an accompanying picture of a boar for good measure (see below).
Windrose is set deep in the Caribbean, during an alternative version of the 18th century. You start off the game as a shipwrecked castaway, and need to get foraging and crafting to survive in the hostile world. Soon, though, you will be able to escape the island you have found yourself on, and take to the seas as a pirate. The game was originally envisaged as a free-to-play MMO, but player feedback during alpha testing convinced the team to pivot toward a more focused premium title, designed for one to four players. And, it seems like this decision has paid off for all involved.
Our Matt took the earlier Windrose demo out for a whirl, and he had a ship shape time with it. “Windrose already has my piratical heart aflame,” he wrote in Eurogamer’s Windrose feature. “I went from optimistic to completely sold.”







