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  1. Games
  2. Survival Games

Indie pirate game overtakes Pragmata with swashbuckling Sea-of-Thieves-meets-Rust Steam Next Fest demo as devs celebrate 1 million wishlists: "A few weeks ago, we couldn't even have imagined this"

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By Anna Koselke published 24 February 2026

"This past week has been a real whirlwind" for the Windrose team

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Windrose, a new pirate-themed open world survival crafting game that lets players fight on both land and sea, has overtaken Pragmata during Steam Next Fest with its free demo – and landed on over a million wishlists to boot.

Steam Next Fest is here, which means plenty of demo-shaped shenanigans are upon us as players discover what might just be their next favorite game – and I'd say Windrose will be that game for many folks, judging by how the event is going so far.

If you check the charts on Steam's official Next Fest page for all "popular upcoming" titles, you'll see Windrose sitting nicely at the top. Right behind it is none other than Capcom's own Pragmata.

It hasn't just overtaken the exciting AAA sci-fi adventure, though. The swashbuckling indie gem is celebrating over a million wishlists, too. A recent post from the developers proves as much, with the team outlining how grateful they are to fans for playing the demo and giving the game a wishlist.

"Windrose means the world to us, and we hope that, over time, it might come to mean something special to you, too," the studio writes.

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"This past week has been a real whirlwind for our team with all the attention the game has been getting. And as the spotlight grows, so do expectations. We're working hard every day to live up to them. There's still a lot ahead of us, and honestly, it can feel a little scary at times. Our biggest goal is to ship a great game and let you be the judge. It may take time, but with your support, this journey becomes a lot easier (and a bit more swashbuckling, too)."

After expressing thanks to players once more, the devs conclude with a heartfelt statement: "A few weeks ago, we couldn't even have imagined this. And thanks to all of you, our game has now passed the 1,000,000+ wishlists mark. That's an incredible milestone, and a reminder of how much work we still have ahead. Thank you so much."

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  • Woman wearing bandana appears up-close in front of rocky waters and shipwrecks Windrose hits 1.5 million Steam wishlists as 800,000 players convince devs to leave the bangin' demo up until launch
  • Screenshot from Windrose, showing a pirate aiming down the sights of her rifle while standing in front of tropical trees. Open-world pirate survival game with over 1.5 million Steam wishlists finally has a release date
  • Screenshot from Windrose, showing a pirate aiming down the sights of her rifle while standing in front of tropical trees. Open-world pirate survival game Windrose launches to 69,000 peak players and 88% positive Steam reviews

Incredible indeed, and seeing as the devs posted their message over the weekend, things have only gone up since then.

And, you know, Windrose has beaten out the likes of behemoths such as Pragmata. With its Sea of Thieves-esque charm and Rust-style survival gameplay, though, I'm not surprised at all – there aren't enough good pirate games out and about, if you ask me.

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Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
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Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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