- Surpassing 60,000 Concurrent Users on Release Day… An Exceptional Achievement for a New Indie Studio
- A pirate adventure combining the Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag vibe with survival and construction
“Windrose,” released as an Early Access title on Steam and the Epic Games Store on April 14 by Uzbekistani indie studio Kraken Express (formerly Windrose Crew), is garnering attention for recording approximately 69,000 concurrent users on its first day.
True to its status as a highly anticipated title that was tried by 800,000 people at the Steam Next Fest demo and surpassed 1.5 million wishlists, the results are remarkable. Released at number 6 on the Steam wishlist, ‘Windrose’ reached a peak concurrent user count of 69,544 on launch day, and approximately 88% of the more than 1,400 reviews were positive. This is an exceptional achievement for a debut title from a new, unknown indie studio.
A pirate survival adventure inspired by ‘Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag’
‘Windrose’ is an open-world PvE survival adventure set in the pirate era. Players take on the role of a captain to challenge the legendary pirate Blackbeard and explore a world where empires, pirate forces, and supernatural beings are intertwined.
The game revolves around a flow of ‘survival, crafting, and construction,’ with exploration and combat traversing both land and sea organically interconnected. Melee combat borrows elements from the Soulslike style, while naval battles and shipboard combat unfold simultaneously at sea.
Even for the Early Access version, the volume of content is substantial. It includes three biomes, approximately 30 procedurally generated islands, and over 90 dungeons, temples, and shipwrecks. Additionally, three ships, a construction system, faction and reputation systems, and NPC hiring features have been implemented. With a main campaign playtime of about 50 to 70 hours, it offers much richer content than typical Early Access games.
A Rough Development Journey: From Free MMO to Paid Survival RPG
‘Windrose’ was not developed in its current form from the beginning. Initially, it was planned as a free PvP MMO named ‘Crosswind,’ but its direction changed significantly during alpha testing.
The development team explained that the initial concept required excessive resources compared to the original plan and was too large a scale for a small team to handle. They also revealed that during testing, they confirmed that users preferred package-style games focused on PvE over PvP, and that the team faced significant difficulties in the process of changing direction, which involved discarding most of the existing work and starting development from scratch.
Praised for visuals and sound… Atmosphere perfected by sailors’ sea shanties
Windrose is receiving favorable reviews from players for delivering a fresh experience with vibrant and atmospheric visuals, rather than the realistic or dark aesthetics commonly found in the survival game genre. In particular, it is praised for stimulating players’ desire to explore through hidden resources, dynamic weather effects, and diverse environmental designs that inspire a sense of discovery. The game was built using the Unreal Engine and is also receiving positive feedback regarding optimization.
In terms of sound, the sea shanty, which forms the core identity of the game, leaves a strong impression. Seán Dagher, well known as the sea shanty singer from ‘Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag’, personally participated in the recording for the vocals on the official soundtrack, and the in-game ambient music was produced in-house by a multi-instrumentalist audio engineer at the studio.
The Steam community was flooded with reactions calling the game’s music an absolute masterpiece. One user stated, “Hearing ‘Sea Shanti’ in the first trailer was the decisive factor in me deciding to play the game.” The overall atmosphere forms a unique vibe, centering on an adventurous and romantic narrative of the pirate era, with the conflict against dark supernatural forces adding tension.
Pre-event anticipation explodes with Steam Next Fest
The demo, released in February 2026, was tried by over 800,000 players and received a 92% positive rating from more than 5,400 Steam reviews, with the development team collecting over 12,000 feedback surveys. The Steam wishlist surpassed 1.5 million, and the response to the demo was so enthusiastic that the development team decided not to take it down until release. During Next Fest, the peak concurrent users for the demo reached 22,396.
The game’s Early Access release schedule was officially announced at the 2026 Triple-i Initiative Indie Showcase. At the time, the game had already established itself as one of the most anticipated indie titles on Steam, and the community was filled with high expectations, including sharing launch countdowns.
Kraken Express, aiming to establish itself in the global market
Kraken Express (formerly Windrose Crew) is a video game development studio based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Originating from the Central Asian indie scene, this small team presents ‘Windrose’ as their first release on the Steam platform. The game’s Japanese publishing is handled by Pocketpair Publishing, established by Pocketpair, the developer of ‘Palworld’.
The development team plans to double the current content during the approximately 1.5 to 2-year Early Access period. New biomes, bosses, ships, and stories will be added sequentially.
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Kraken Express (formerly Windrose Crew) |
| Publisher | Kraken Express / Pocketpair Publishing (Japan) |
| Genre | Open World Survival Adventure |
| Release platform | PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Stove) |
| Release format | Early Access |
| Release date | April 14, 2026 |
| price | $29.99 (Supporter Bundle $39.99) |
| Pre-order wishlist | Over 1.5 million downloads (Ranked 6th overall on Steam) |
| Number of demo players | About 800,000 to 900,000 people |
| Highest concurrent users on release day | 69,544 people |
| Lunch Review Rating | 88~92% Positive (Very Positive) |
| 1.0 Expected Release | 1.5 to 2.5 years later |
| Soundtrack | Mr. Seán Dagher participated in the recording of Shanti |
| Steam Page | https://store.steampowered.com/app/3041230/Windrose/ |
