Seriously, Why Don't We Have More Good Pirate Games?

The recent success of Windrose, an early access title from small studio Kraken Express, has reinforced a feeling I’ve had for a while now: why don’t we have more good pirate games? Windrose has already skyrocketed past 110,000 concurrent players on Steam, and while it’s a great game, it’s not a triple-A title blockbuster, but an early access indie that no one had heard of before its Next Fest demo a few months ago. The pirate genre is ripe for exploration, but no one can seem to get it right.