Both the pirate game Windrose and Crimson Desert were initially intended as multiplayer titles, but in both cases the developers changed direction. In the case of Windrose, it certainly paid off, as the anticipation for the soon-to-be Early Access release on Steam is huge.
What kind of game is this? Windrose is a new survival game with a pirate setting, developed by the Windrose Crew. On land and at sea, you fight your way through a Caribbean island world – alone or in co-op with other sword fighters.
Windrose was almost a completely different game. Under the name Crosswind, the developers initially wanted to create a Free2Play MMO. However, the feedback during the first alpha tests of that version was poor (according to Eurogamer.de).
The developers then decided to turn the ship around. Windrose thus became a premium title for one to four players. This is similar to the development story of Crimson Desert, which was originally announced as an MMORPG, but these plans were abandoned in favor of a pure single-player experience.
In a new trailer, the developers finally announce the release date of Windrose:
From Multiplayer to Co-op and one of the most wanted games on Steam
Was this change worth it? It certainly seems so, as the demo for the Steam Next Fest in February 2026 was received very well by players:
- The 8,624 Steam reviews for the Windrose demo are 92% positive (as of April 10, 2026, 10:51 AM).
- With over 22,000 concurrent players, the demo was among the most played at Steam Next Fest 2026 (according to steamdb.info)
Meanwhile, over 1.5 million players on Steam have added the title to their wish list. Thus, Windrose is one of the most requested games on the platform. However, when the survival game is finally supposed to be released, the developers did not want to reveal even about a month ago.
Now, however, a new trailer finally announces the release date: Windrose will be released on April 14, 2026 on Steam, initially only as an Early Access version. So don’t expect a finished, polished product. The game is not yet complete and will continue to be developed with feedback from the community.
To help pass the time until the release, you can continue to play the demo of Windrose. It is so extensive that you can easily spend several hours in it. MyMMO author Linda Baumgartl has directly signed on: I have already spent 10 hours in the Windrose demo and didn’t even have to enslave my friends
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!