Pirates have been a popular theme in video games for decades. They offer players the chance to live adventures and to explore the high seas for treasure and adventures. From strategic naval battles, to story-driven epics and open-world exploration.
Games featuring pirates deliver a wide range of experiences that bland action, discovery, and sometimes the supernatural. Here are five video games about pirates you’ll want to play:
Sea of Thieves
A first-person co-op multiplayer action-adventure game. In Sea of Thieves, players take the role of pirates sailing on the open sea looking for treasure and battling against other pirates, skeletons and mythological creatures of the sea. Each crew can play in up to four person groups, choosing quests, companies to work with and Islands to explore.
The game uses emergent gameplay, meaning every choice made by the players will impact their encounters during gameplay. However, the player must remember that they will also encounter other crews of players in the same server, and that it is completely up to them whether to engage in battle or take a cooperative approach, like forming alliances.
The game’s success depends on skill mechanics and team coordination when handling bigger ships. Sea of thieves does not build experience on wealth or status. Progress is shown through cosmetic rewards and titles that show the dedication to the game. Features like animals (monkeys,parrots,etc) on the ship, new weapons and skins for your ship.
Sea of Thieves is also known for its seasonal updates that include new challenges, new enemies and seasonal rewards.
Its open world dynamic and countless missions to complete makes Sea of Thieves one of the most unique pirate video games.
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag
The first Assassin’s creed after Desmond Milles. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag shows the story of Edward Kenway, a british privateer that turns pirate who later went on to become an Assassin.
After an attack on his ship, Kenway found himself stranded on a deserted island with an Assassin who ran off to the jungle. But Kenway chased him down and killed him, took his possessions and found a letter from the governor of Cuba. Here is where Edward Kenway’s adventure starts.
The game includes three main cities: Havana, Kingston and Nassau.
And what’s happening on the outside? As previously mentioned, this pirate’s adventure is posterior to desmon’s story in Assassin’s Creed. It is actually Abstergo Entertainment who developed the “Sample 17 project” using Desmond’s DNA. In order to gather material for the production of various Animus Omega projects.
The Pirate Assassin Returns
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, releasing next July 9th, will return to the Caribbean adventures of Edward Kenway. Rebuilt on the latest Anvil engine, already used in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Graphics have been reworked and redefined for a smoother visual experience. More customisation options for the Jackdaw, new skins and ships pets. Ten new songs will join the already existing see shanties.
The new and updated version of Black flag will also include new missions and scenes with Edward Kenway’s original actor Matt Ryan.
Windrose
Windrose is a new game released in April 2026. An open world pirate survival-craft game set in an alternative and supernatural Age of Piracy. Players must gather resources, can build bases and upgrade their equipment while sailing through the seas. Discovering new islands filled with enemies, secret dungeons and finding treasures.
As players progress in the game they’re able to personalise their ship, improve their equipment, and face increasingly powerful enemies and bosses. The combat system blends close-range fighting and long-range, alongside naval engagements where players command ships, exchange cannon fire, and board enemy vessels for direct confrontations.
The players take on the role of a pirate captain who begins their story on a voyage. Challenge the legendary blackbeard captain, meet other pirates, join factions, and the supernatural forces shaping the seas.
Sid Meier’s Pirates!
A pirate classic from 1987. An action adventure strategy video game set in an open world in which players take the role of a pirate captain in the 17th-century Caribbean. Sid Meier’s Pirates! is also known by its remake launched in 2004. Players can freely choose their path, navigating the sandbox world, sailing the seas, engaging in ship battles, and dueling enemies. The game blends elements of strategy, role-playing, and action that allows players to build their reputation as pirates, accumulate wealth, and pursue personal goals.
The gameplay encourages the players to explore and shape their own story through their own actions and decisions. Naval combat plays a central role in the story, requiring careful use of wind direction and tactical maneuvering, while boarding enemy vessels leads to close-quarters sword fighting. Players can also engage in diplomacy by working as privateers for different nations, adding a political layer to the experience.
The ultimate goal of Sid Meier’s Pirates is to create a lasting legacy and retire with high status and fortune.
Monkey Island saga
Monkey Island is a graphic adventure saga, first released in 1990 for PC. The titles for these saga typically use a point and click format where players explore different scenes, searching for objects and clues that help them solve the puzzles encountered along the game. Progress also relies on Interacting and speaking with different characters. This pirate saga is a classic and well-known for its quirky sense of humour featured in the dialogue and puzzles. This absurd tone has become a defining feature of the franchise, setting it apart from other adventure games.
The Secret of Monkey Island
In The Secret of Monkey Island, the story’s protagonist is Guybrush Threepwood, a young man who arrives on an island with the ambition of becoming a pirate. To achieve this, he must complete a series of trials that take him all across the island. Once he proves himself , he sets sail for the legendary Monkey Island, where he must confront the fearsome ghost pirate LeChuck in order to rescue his new love, Elaine Marley.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge
In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, Guybrush Threepwood is now wealthy and sets out to live new adventures. However, Largo LaGrande, a pirate that terrorises Scabb Island, appears and robs his fortune. To set things right, he must track down the legendary treasure of Big Whoop while also winning back the love of Elaine Marley. All this, while facing off once again against LeChuck.
The Curse of Monkey Island
In The Curse of Monkey Island Threepwood must restore Elaine to her human form after she is turned to gold by a cursed ring. To break the spell he sets off on a journey filled with puzzles, encounters, and dangerous challenges across the Caribbean. LeChuck returns once again crossing paths with Threepwood and Elaine.
Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island Narrates the story of Threepwood and Elaine’s return from their honeymoon to discover that she has been officially declared dead and her mansion is about to be demolished. This leads to the calling of elections to choose a new governor for Mêlée Island, but this time it is not a simple uncontested race, as she must face a rival candidate, Charles L. Charles.
Tales of Monkey Island
In Tales of Monkey Island, During a heated battle against LeChuck, Threepwood accidentally unleashes a sinister curse that rapidly spreads across the Caribbean. This curse turns pirates into zombies, and so a Voodoo priestess sends him on a quest to find “the big sponge”, a legendary sea sponge that it is said to be capable of stopping the outbreak.
Return to Monkey Island
In Return to Monkey Island, the story continues from Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, while respecting the rest of the series so that all previous titles remain part of the canon. At the same time, it expands the world by introducing new locations and islands.
Game On, Me Hearties!
Climb aboard and take the helm of your next adventure. The seas await, full of treasure and mystery. Rally your friends in one of these multiplayer games or find your new crew on Gamers.Online.
Join a pirate faction in Sea of Thieves, follow the memories of a long lost relative in Assassins Creed Black Flag, or defy and defeat LeChuck in Monkey Island.
Game on!🏴☠️