Open-world pirate games are so back: Windrose hits 1.5 million Steam wishlists as 800,000 players convince devs to leave the bangin' demo up until launch

Woman wearing bandana appears up-close in front of rocky waters and shipwrecks.

I was psyched when I saw an open-world pirate survival game topping the list of most-played Steam Next Fest demos, and I was even more psyched to find out the demo is very good. I've since spent hours with Windrose's Steam demo, crafting and building my base, sailing around the high seas, and pumping other ships full of cannonballs, and I am triply psyched to learn I'll be able to continue doing so until the game's early access launch.

Developer Windrose Crew revealed as much in a new Steam update celebrating a staggering 1.5 million wishlists, not to mention 800,000 players from the demo alone.