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Subscribe to our newsletter When I first learned about Windrose on that fateful day during Steam Next Fest in February, I was a little salty about the fact that progress in the demo doesn't carry over to the full game.

However, after playing the opening parts of the game and raving about it to anyone who'll listen, I'm not mad at all.

Windrose launched into Steam Early Access today to immediately glowing reviews and incredible peak player counts, and I can't wait to start all over again.I'm reacting to the news of Windrose's early wins with a sense of delight, but not surprise.

The explicitly Assassin's Creed Black Flag-inspired survival romp is beautiful, amazingly well-optimized, and blends together Black Flag-like sailing with Sea of Thieves-style combat and Valheim survival and crafting into a really unique whole that still somehow feels fairly cohesive.

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In the famous words of one Todd Howard, "all of this just works." (Image credit: Windrose Crew)Again, unsurprisingly, this has proven a winning formula with players ## Editor's Note The implications of this news could be significant for the industry. Source: [GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/open-world/open-world-pirate-survival-game-windrose-launches-to-69-000-steam-players-and-88-percent-positive-reviews-scratches-that-black-flag-itch-in-the-best-way/)