Windrose hits 500,000 players in 48 hours – It’s not even free-to-play

Not bad for a studio’s first game. Kraken Express has revealed that Windrose, its open-world pirate survival title, has pulled in half a million players within just two days of launching into early access, and people seem to genuinely love it.

A Genre done right

The pirate space has been well-trodden ground. Sea of Thieves, Skull & Bones, and Assassin’s Creed Black Flag have all had a crack at it, but Windrose carves out its own lane as a PvE survival game built around deep customisation, base construction, and some properly intense combat. It’s not trying to be everything to everyone and that focus seems to be paying off.

Ahoy, captains! Over 500,000 of you set sail in just 48 hours since Early Access launch.

This milestone belongs to you — thank you for your support and passion for Windrose.

We’re back to work on the next hotfix (coming Friday).

More to come! pic.twitter.com/uNxjxUhMP1

— Windrose (@PlayWindrose) April 16, 2026

Formerly known as Crosswind, the game drops you in at the deep end after a shipwreck and lets you claw your way back up from nothing. Before long you’re commanding a full-blown ship, managing outposts, and ruling the seas. PvP isn’t in yet, but the foundation is clearly there.

The numbers don’t lie

What makes Windrose’s milestone even more impressive is that it isn’t free-to-play, it’s priced at around £21/$26.99. That means Kraken Express is already well in the black. The game has hit a peak concurrent player count of over 97,000 on Steam, with reviews sitting at 85% positive. For a debut title from a brand-new studio, backed by Pocketpair Publishing, that’s genuinely remarkable.

The Steam Next Fest demo was already one of the most-played on the platform. Turns out that wasn’t a fluke.

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