Diff - crosswind - Windrose Wiki

11 Crosswind was the original title of the game now known as Windrose. The game name change happened on December 4, 2025 during the December 2025 gameplay showcase broadcast. The studio simultaneously renamed from Crosswind Crew to Windrose Crew. The studio then renamed a second time to Kraken Express alongside the Early Access launch on April 14, 2026.

33 Announcement

55 Crosswind was announced on March 19, 2025 by publisher Forward Gateway and developer Crosswind Crew, an independent studio headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with an undisclosed number of developers on the team. The game was revealed as a free-to-play survival MMO set in an alternate Age of Piracy, with a Steam page and playtest sign-ups opening simultaneously.

77 Original Vision

99 Under the Crosswind name, the game was planned as a free-to-play survival MMO with shared servers, PvP combat, and live-service monetization. Players would share the world with other crews, competing for resources and territory. The structure leaned toward a persistent shared-world online pirate game rather than a small-group survival sandbox. Each player had a procedurally generated archipelago with hand-crafted points of interest, and shared zones served as the MMO layer for PvE and PvP activities.

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1111 Devblogs

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1313 The team published five devblogs between April and August 2025, each covering a different aspect of the game:

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1515 DevblogDateTopics#1April 24, 2025MMO vs survival, PvP vs PvE, why it is also single player, naval combat, base life with NPC workers, character creation#2April 25, 2025Building system (Shelter to Settlement progression), one-click blueprints, modular pieces, precision rotation, preview mode, building-integrity system, comfort bonuses from decorations#3May 2, 2025Community Q&A covering taming, group play, ship combat, gear, fishing, and future plans#4June 6, 2025Laying the Keel world-building philosophy, layered timelines (fact then fiction), biomes starting in the Caribbean, faction preview: Blackbeard's crew with Edward Teach's motto#5August 14, 2025The pivot: buy-to-play confirmed, PvE co-op focus, MMO features dropped, Ashlands biome revealed, Tortuga redesign, Early Access 2026

1616 Sea Shanties

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1818 Between devblogs, the studio released a "Shanties of Crosswind" music video in early April 2025 featuring in-game footage captured with a cinematic camera. All shanties were made in-house (no AI), including "Leave Her Johnny," "Blow The Man Down," "Drunken Sailor," "Rolling Down To Old Maui," "Good Morning Ladies," and "Whiskey Johnny."

1919

2020 Alpha Playtest

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2222 The alpha playtest launched on June 25, 2025 under the Crosswind name and ran for four weeks. Key numbers:

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2424 MetricValueWishlists at launch350,000+Applications receivedLarge number (hundreds of thousands)Invitations sent20,000+NDA statusNo NDA; content creators and players free to share everythingContent available30+ hours across three biomes, three bosses, four ship types, six building material typesCo-opSolo or online co-op for up to 3 players

2525 The alpha featured land combat, ship-to-ship combat, real-time boarding fights, three bosses with multiple difficulty tiers, and building with six material types. A Twitch streaming event ran from July 10 to July 13, 2025, where viewers could watch participating streamers play Crosswind for a chance to win alpha keys.

2626

2727 Alpha Reception

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2929 Content creators and early previews praised the alpha:

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3131 Early previews compared it favorably against other recent big-budget pirate games, praising it for feeling like a real adventure with soul rather than a checklist of tasksThe building system was singled out as impressive and funExploration was a major hook, with islands feeling distinct (swampy, tangled, sunbaked, barren)

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3333 The critical insight from the alpha: many players told the developers they were perfectly satisfied playing solo or with a small group of friends, enjoying traditional survival gameplay without needing a large-scale MMO environment. This feedback directly drove the pivot.

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3535 The Pivot (August 14, 2025)

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3737 On August 14, 2025, the studio published Devblog #5 announcing a major direction change:

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3939 ChangeDetailsMonetizationFree-to-play became buy-to-play ("skipping the paid cosmetics" to focus on "high-quality content instead")GenreSurvival MMO became PvE co-op survival game. MMO features dropped.MultiplayerPlayers could now play offline, host their own sessions, run dedicated servers, and eventually play with modsPvPNot entirely off the table, but a much lower priorityEarly AccessPlanned for 2026 (entering Early Access earlier than the originally planned 1.0 launch)

4040 Producer Philip Molodkovets later explained at Gamescom: "We realised during the Alpha test that in terms of amount of work and technical limitations, it would be very risky to keep pursuing this huge scope, so we decided to narrow it down a bit and make one thing right."

4141

4242 The devblog also revealed the Ashlands biome (volcanic landscapes with skeleton enemies, dungeons, and treasure buried under volcanic ash) and a reimagined Tortuga as a besieged outpost in constant conflict with the undead.

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4444 Gamescom 2025

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4646 A playable demo was available at Gamescom 2025 in August, and the team conducted multiple interviews. Key details revealed:

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4848 Naval combat modeled on classic age-of-sail naval action, with ship steering, broadsides, and boardingDifferent ammo types, ship weak spots, and ricochet mechanics for damage avoidanceFour confirmed biomes, each with distinct enemies, resources, recipes, and bossesNPC system with three types: Specialists (teach recipes), Workers (automate tasks), Officers (exclusive to ships, improve vessel capabilities, cannot die)Food uses a layered system where three food types simultaneously boost stats, with no starvation deathsA substantial amount of story content planned for Early Access (Chapter 1), described in interviews as potentially dozens of hoursTeam inspired by well-known survival-crafting and age-of-sail action games

4949

5050 Galaxies Autumn Show (October 23, 2025)

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5252 Crosswind unveiled a new gameplay trailer during the Galaxies Autumn show on Twitch. The trailer showcased ships, weapons, building sets, enemies, and locations. This points to exploration, strategic base building, intense combat, crew recruitment, and open-sea navigation.

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5454 First Rename (December 4, 2025)

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5656 The rebrand to Windrose reflected the new design direction. "Crosswind" carried associations with the MMO version and its PvP focus. "Windrose" (the compass rose on nautical charts) better communicated the game's new identity as an exploration-focused PvE adventure. The announcement came at the December 2025 gameplay showcase on December 4, 2025. The studio simultaneously renamed from Crosswind Crew to Windrose Crew. A new trailer showcased naval battles, sword-fighting combat, cannon fire, high-seas action, ship-to-ship transitions, and on-foot encounters. Two new weapons (greatsword and blunderbuss) and a new Grenadier enemy type were revealed in the same announcement.

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5858 Steam Next Fest Demo (February 2026)

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6060 The Steam Next Fest demo produced striking numbers and drove the game onto top wishlist charts:

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6262 MetricValuePeak concurrent players22,396 (February 22, 2026), one of the most-played demos on SteamTotal demo players850,000+Steam reviews during demo92% positive from over 5,400 reviewsSteam wishlists (pre-launch)1,500,000+

6363 Fan Fest (February 25, 2026)

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6565 A new "Raging Seas" trailer premiered at Fan Fest. The trailer showcased upcoming Early Access content including Tortuga as a playable location, additional ships, new weapons and armor, expanded building pieces, and new enemy types.

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6767 Second Rename and Pocketpair Deal (April 2026)

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6969 Alongside the April 14, 2026 Early Access launch, the studio renamed itself a second time from Windrose Crew to Kraken Express. The developers stated that the new name "just sounds cooler, otherwise, that's still us." Pocketpair Publishing (a Japanese publisher) joined Kraken Express as co-publisher for the Early Access release. Forward Gateway no longer appears as publisher on the Steam page after this change.

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7171 Early Access Launch (April 14, 2026)

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7373 Windrose launched in Early Access on April 14, 2026 at 8:00 AM UTC (4:00 AM EDT) on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Stove. The base game launched at $29.99 with a Supporter Bundle (soundtrack and wallpapers) at $39.99. Early Access is expected to last 1.5 to 2.5 years, with roughly 50 percent more content planned before the 1.0 release. Within the first two hours of launch, the game hit over 20,000 concurrent Steam players and a Very Positive rating.

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7575 Complete Timeline

7676

7777 DateEventMarch 19, 2025Game announced as Crosswind (F2P survival MMO); Steam page live; playtest sign-ups openApril 24, 2025Devblog #1: MMO vs survival, PvP/PvE, naval combat, base lifeApril 25, 2025Devblog #2: Building system, comfort bonusesEarly April 2025Shanties of Crosswind music video (all original, no AI)May 2, 2025Devblog #3: Community Q&AJune 6, 2025Devblog #4: World-building, factions, Blackbeard loreJune 25, 2025Alpha playtest launches (20K+ keys, 4-week duration, no NDA)July 10-13, 2025Twitch streaming event for alpha key giveawaysAugust 14, 2025Devblog #5: Pivot (buy-to-play, PvE co-op, MMO dropped, Ashlands, Tortuga)August 2025Gamescom 2025: Playable demo, developer interviewsOctober 23, 2025Galaxies Autumn show: New gameplay trailerDecember 4, 2025December 2025 gameplay showcase: Rebrand to Windrose; Crosswind Crew becomes Windrose Crew; greatsword, blunderbuss, Grenadier revealFebruary 17, 2026Windrose demo released for Steam Next FestFebruary 22, 2026Demo hits 22,396 concurrent peakFebruary 23, 20261 million Steam wishlists announcedFebruary 25, 2026 Fan Fest: Raging Seas trailerApril 20261.5 million wishlists announced days before launchApril 2, 2026Pocketpair Publishing Japan regional partnership announced by Bucky BuckleyApril 9, 2026Triple-i Initiative show: Pocketpair Publishing listed as Japan publisher on Steam; Early Access release date of April 14 confirmedApril 14, 2026Early Access launch on Steam, Epic, and Stove at $29.99; Windrose Crew renames to Kraken Express

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