21 Best PC Pirate Games To Sail The High Seas

We’re pretty sure almost every one of you wanted to be a pirate at one point or another in your life, right? Well you’re in luck then! Because there are plenty of video games out there to help you fulfill such fantasies and we can list some of them for you here!

#21 Salt 2: Shores of Gold

Platform: PC
Release Date: September 20, 2022

Sea of Thieves might have initially looked appealing; however, you might be disadvantaged when venturing off as a solo player. With that said, if you’re truly after a solo pirating experience, then Salt 2: Shores of Gold might be of interest. Players take to their ship and set sail in this procedurally generated game. With random islands being generated, you’ll uncover all kinds of thrilling adventures. Meet with civilians in a nearby town, take on quests, interact with other pirates, search caves for loot, and use your newfound funds to tweak your ship further or make some necessary upgrades to the gear you have equipped.

#20 Return to Monkey Island

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S Switch
Release Date: 2022

The Monkey Island series is quite an iconic one if you’re a fan of old-school adventure titles. This franchise thrived back in the day, and fortunately, the IP has had a bit of a resurgence. 2022 saw the release of Return to Monkey Island, which follows our dear old captain Guybrush Threepwood. Once again, in search of the secret of Monkey Island, players will get yet another thrilling experience, much of the same style of gameplay the original installments were known for. Additionally, if you enjoyed the past games, you might recall some notable locations we’ll visit. So get ready for another swashbuckling point and click adventure.

#19 The Pirate: Caribbean Hunt

A free-to-play game in which you sail into the heart of the Caribbean in the Age of Piracy, Sail through battles and raids, find ransoms and treasures and become the Crimson King of the Antilles. With 20 classes of ships, an unlimited fleet size and various weapons to use, you will have a blast. Upgrade your ship, unlock new skills and features for your Captain and compete with players in multiplayer PvP and PvE modes. Ready to become a pirate?

#18 Pirates, Vikings, and Knights II

A free-to-play game that pits three teams against each other for wealth, power and domination. Choose to side with pirates, Vikings or Knights through several game modes. Battle on a tropical island for treasure, spill the blood of your enemies to appease the gods and take control of the precious badlands territory. Use a range of weapons such as swords, axes, guns and even explosives to win in any means necessary.

#17 Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

Let’s start out with a more lighthearted adventure, shall we? Because the Lego video games have touched all manner of franchises over the years…for better or worse. And yes, that means that they did indeed touch upon Pirates of the Caribbean.

In this Lego swashbuckling adventure, you’ll get to go across the main Pirates movies and get to recreate some of their best battles and scenes in Lego form. You’ll play as Jack Sparrow and company and go on a journey for glory, treasure, fun, and to save the day, naturally.

So if you have kids who want to be pirates, this would be a great place to start them.

#16 Age of Booty

It would be all too easy to make a certain kind of joke here…so we won’t.

Age of Booty (still no jokes) is actually a real-time strategy game of a more…casual nature. Meaning that the game is meant to be strategic, but not as overwhelming or taxing as other RTS games are. You’ll be the captain of a pirate ship and set sail to sink your enemies, get treasure and ransack villages that you run into.

The more you get, the more you can upgrade your ship and crew so that they can be even better at the missions and tasks at hand. So, are you ready to set sail and get your plunder?

#15 Sid Meier’s Pirates!

If the name “Sid Meier” rings a bell for you, that’s probably because he was the guy who made the Civilization series. You know, one of the most popular and expansive RTS franchises out there today? The man knows how to make games.

Thus, in 2005, he took a stab with Sid Meier’s Pirates! Like in Civilization, you have all sorts of options as to how you can go and live your best pirate life. You can be a terror on the seas, or, you can be a Privateer in search or riches, you can go into town to try and woo some ladies, and so on.

It doesn’t fully hold up today, but you should still give it a try!

#14 Risen 3 Titan Lords

Risen 3 Titan Lords may not look like a pirate adventure at first, but when you dive in you’ll see the themes of it all wrapped in a grand-scale story that happens to be about you fighting for your soul an the world at the same time.

Because in this game, you are part of a world where the gods of old are gone, the Titans are running rampant and humanity is trying to find a way to fight back. Your own personal life has been “shattered” and so your goal is to get everything back.

A sweeping and twisting adventure awaits you. So go see where it leads!

#13 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – The Legend of Dead Kel

Usually we’d put DLC content first on a list, but given that this is DLC for a rather expansive RPG title? We’re going to make a shift here.

The Legend of Dead Kel is a nicely sized DLC expansion of Kingdoms of Amalur. In it, the mystery of Dead Kel is coming back to haunt the people of Amalur, and it’s up to you to go and find the truth and put a stop to the madness once and for all!

You’ll team up with some unique personalities to try and discover the truth, but sometimes the truth…is best remained buried…which you might be if you’re not careful…

#12 One Piece Pirate Warriors 3

The original One Piece story where everything started is here to be enjoyed once again with improved visuals and animation in this action adventure game based on the hit anime series. Gather all the members of the Straw Hat Crew, set sail to the most beautiful places and engage in the most insane and epic battles with the most crazy enemies. This one is a ton of fun and all playable in local co-op.

#11 Assassin’s Creed Rogue

Become the ultimate assassin hunter in Assassin’s Creed Rogue as for the first time in the Assassin’s Creed Universe you play from the perspective of a Templar. Building on the world of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and allows you to sail the ice seas of the North Atlantic as well as the narrow river valleys. Defend yourself from assassin’s as they attempt to commandeer your ship, use icebergs as cover during hectic naval battles and discover a diverse open world.

#10 Atlas

For who are wanting a truly grand-scale Pirate adventure that doesn’t hold back, Atlas might be what you’re thinking of. Because in this game (from the creators of Ark: Survival Evolved), you’ll be given your own Pirate life to go and do with it what you will.

That means you can make your own ship, then go find other players to be your crew, then set sail for adventure! Oh yes, this is a multiplayer game, and a cross-platform one at that! You’ll be able to ally with other players or go straight-up to war with them.

Conquer islands, get loot, get a fleet of ships to call your own, all is possible in Atlas.

#9 Furious Seas

While many of these games are true pirate adventures, the fact remains that many of them don’t let you “feel” like you’re actually commanding a pirate ship. But Furious Seas is the exception to that rule. Why is that? Because it’s a VR title! Yep, this game is a VR one that’ll let you personally pilot your pirate ship as you sail on treacherous waters, or go and fight off other ships to survive, and more!

There’s a deep singleplayer and multiplayer presence here. What’s more, they worked really hard to make sure you won’t get seasick. So if you have a VR headset, you should go and try it out.

#8 Blackwake

When it comes to actually running a ship, even one like a pirate ship, it’s not just about one person. Yes, the captain is important, but you need a crew to make everything go smoothly. Blackwake is the title that really puts the “teamwork” into a pirate adventure.

Because in this multiplayer naval warfare title, you’ll be in battles that’ll feature up to 54 players, and each ship can have a crew of up to 13 people! That means there needs to be a LOT of coordination and teamwork to stay alive.

There are multiple game modes here, and many ways to both fight and survive on the high seas, so don’t miss out.

#7 Windward

Windward is another very unique kind of pirate title. Because you aren’t necessarily a pirate here, but someone who is going on their own sailing journey and will encounter pirates along the way.

Long story short, you and your partner (co-op partner in this case) are going to set sail on a journey that’ll take you across bodies of water and to various islands. The farther you go out from your home base, the more difficult the challenge, but you’ll also get better rewards.

Add to that, you can go on quest to help villages grow, fight against pirates trying to steal your stuff, and more! All in all, this is going to be one interesting adventure.

#6 Blazing Sails

Blazing Sails is another game that emphasizes teamwork just as much as it does battling. Because in the game, you’ll play in a variety of modes to try and showcase that you’re the best crew of pirates around!

You have modes like “Treasure Hunt”, where you can go up against another person to try and find a set of treasure chests before them. Or, you can do a battle royale with other teams of pirates to see who can last to the end.

Add to that, your fellow players will help keep your boat afloat in the literal sense. So hop in and see if your crew and get the victory!

#5 Rebel Galaxy

Last time we checked, there aren’t just pirates on Earth, there are pirates in space, and Rebel Galaxy is one of the games  that embodies that kind of “space swashbuckling adventures” that people love to do.

To the extent that you’ll be the captain of a star destroyer and then be given free reign to do just about anything you want. Seriously. If you want to be the biggest pirate in the galaxy, go ahead. If you want to go and save people from other pirates or terrors in space? By all means.

Want to build up your own fleet so no one can oppose you? Do it! The universe is a very big place, so go see what it all has to offer you .

#4 Monkey Island

Oh yes, we’re going back in time now for one of the best adventures around! The Monkey Island series was an adventure story where you would play as Guybrush Threepwood. A charming yet hapless fool who wants to become the best pirate around and win the heart of a certain governor.

The games would focus on Monkey Island (obviously) and all the threats and secrets that it just so happened to hold dear. These games were meant to be “player friendly” but that was part of the fun as it meant you got to enjoy the game more.

The best part is that a new installment in the series was recently announced! All the more reason for you to jump in and have some old-school fun!

# 3 Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag arguably came at the best time for the franchise. Because at this point in time, the main story of the games had become…well…let’s just say a bit convoluted and no one was really sure where things would go from there.

As a result, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag got to be more about the gameplay and setting than anything else, and it worked. Fans loved the naval combat elements and the swashbuckling feel of the world. So much so that future games tried to incorporate various elements of Black Flag into it to keep fans happy.

While we’ll never get a true Black Flag 2, we at least have this one.

#2 Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is arguably the best current true-pirate game out there right now. Mainly because Rare is constantly updating things to make it one of the best pirate games you can play either by yourself or with a friend.

Like in other pirate games we’ve talked about, Sea of Thieves puts you in the role of a new pirate in a world full of them via other players. Your goal is to do whatever you want to do in order to become the best pirate ever.

Battle, loot, search for treasure, swim in the oceans to see what you find, the adventure is all there! There’s even some Pirates of the Caribbean content if you want.

#1 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

The sequel to arguably one of the greatest RPG adventures ever made, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire takes things to a whole new level…all the while making you feel like an RPG pirate. Because in this game, a rogue god is on the run, and the only way to catch him is to go and search for them across a mass archipelago of island known as the Deadfire.

How you go about your journey is up to do. Pick who you want to be, who you want to team up with, and more. Upgrade your ship for the battles on the water that WILL come, and ensure that when this journey is over, you’re the last one standing!