Revision 3

Windrose supports cooperative multiplayer for up to 4 players. The game is fully playable solo offline, and co-op is entirely optional. There is no PvP in the current design. The multiplayer system uses private, persistent worlds rather than shared public servers.

Server options

Private worlds

The developers have stated that "your world is your own." Each co-op group plays in a private, persistent world. There are no random strangers sailing into your territory. This is a deliberate departure from the original Crosswind MMO design, which featured shared servers and PvP.

Co-op gameplay

Playing with friends opens up role specialization. Groups can coordinate so that one person focuses on Base Building while others handle exploration and combat. In Naval Combat, crew members can man different positions on the ship. Dungeon runs with a full party allow tank-and-damage role splits that solo players cannot access.

World persistence

Progress in a co-op world persists between sessions. Buildings remain, resources respawn on a timer, and story progress saves. With dedicated servers, the world stays active even when the host logs off, allowing group members to play at different times. A single character can be used across multiple procedurally generated worlds, and character progress carries between different worlds. This means you can start a new world with different biome arrangements without losing your levels or recipes.

No PvP

Windrose is strictly PvE. PvP was removed when the game pivoted from its original MMO design. The developers stated the name change "reflects the new direction we've chosen" toward exploration and cooperative play rather than PvP competition. Some community members have suggested that dedicated server support might enable community-hosted PvP servers in the future, similar to how ARK servers can set custom rules, but nothing official has been announced.

Mod support

The developers have confirmed that mod support is planned for the future, though it will not be available at Early Access launch. This opens the possibility for community-created content, custom game modes, and quality-of-life modifications.

Demo limitations

The Steam Next Fest demo supports self-hosted co-op only. No dedicated servers are available in the demo, and demo progress does not carry over to Early Access. Some connectivity issues were reported during the demo period, which the studio acknowledged. Dedicated server support and stability improvements are priorities for the Early Access launch.