Pocketpair Publishing

Pocketpair Publishing is the Japanese regional publishing label of Pocketpair, the Japanese studio best known for the breakout 2024 survival-craft hit Palworld. For Windrose, Pocketpair Publishing is the regional publisher in Japan, while the developer, Kraken Express, self-publishes the game in all other regions. The partnership was announced on April 2, 2026, ahead of the April 14, 2026 Steam Early Access launch of Windrose.

Role on Windrose

Pocketpair Publishing is listed alongside Kraken Express as a publisher on the Steam store page for Windrose, but its role is specifically regional: handling Japan-market distribution, localization, and marketing. Kraken Express remains the developer and the self-publisher everywhere outside Japan. The previous publisher, Forward Gateway, is no longer listed on the store page at launch.

Pocketpair's Head of Communications and Publishing, John "Bucky" Buckley, announced the deal on social media, calling Pocketpair Publishing the regional publisher for Windrose in Japan and describing the game as a PvE pirate survival that, in his view, was already one of the best in its genre. Windrose launched with Japanese interface and subtitle support as one of its twelve supported languages, and Pocketpair Publishing's involvement helps with Japanese-market amplification, platform relations, and regional marketing that a small independent studio would struggle to coordinate alone.

Parent Studio

Pocketpair is a Japanese studio best known for developing Palworld, a creature-catching survival-craft game that became a viral phenomenon in 2024. Pocketpair Publishing operates as a separate publishing arm that supports third-party indie titles outside Pocketpair's own development slate, and Windrose is one of the earliest high-profile titles released under this label. Pocketpair leadership has publicly noted that adding Windrose-style naval combat to Palworld would be impractical, joking that it would just turn into a Palworld sequel.

Connection to Kraken Express

Windrose is Kraken Express's first commercial release. The studio is based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and adopted the name Kraken Express on April 14, 2026, the same day Windrose entered Early Access; it had previously operated as Windrose Crew and, earlier still, as Crosswind Crew. The Pocketpair Publishing partnership provides regional marketing support and publishing expertise in Japan, where a small independent studio would otherwise have limited reach. Kraken Express retains self-publishing status worldwide, so the studio is not being acquired or absorbed by Pocketpair. The deal is specifically a Japan regional publishing arrangement, not a global co-publishing agreement.

The arrangement also arrived alongside a strong commercial start: Windrose drew a peak of more than 69,500 concurrent players on Steam within its first 24 hours, one of the stronger pirate-game openings on the platform, which gave the new publishing relationship an immediate audience in and beyond Japan.

Relevance to Players

For Japanese players, Pocketpair Publishing's involvement means better local-market support, marketing visibility, and likely improved Japanese localization quality. For players outside Japan, the deal is a background detail that does not change the game content, pricing, or feature set. Players interested in the broader publishing landscape may note that the association signals confidence from an established survival-game company in Kraken Express's direction. The deal does not affect Western or Korean distribution, which remains across Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Stove.

Announcement Timeline