News
Dispatches from the build — launch, updates, and what's on the horizon.
August 21, 2026
Six captains, six ships — Update v1.4.0 is out
This is the drop I've been most excited to hand over. I make Pirate Twist on my own, in the evenings, so the work lands in waves rather than a steady drip — and today three of those waves come ashore at once. From the playtest right through launch, every pirate lord you fought has been the same sloop wearing a different tint, and it bothered me a little more each time one sailed on screen. Six of them now have hulls of their own: a horned figurehead, a ram's skull, a blood-red raider. You'll know which one is bearing down on you long before you can read her name. The whole fleet is repainted in layers, and sails furl now when a ship turns into the wind's eye — you can finally see a hull lose the breeze instead of guessing from the speed bar. I stared at that one for an embarrassing amount of time. I also rebuilt the tutorial so it stops the world for every lesson: I'd been asking people to read a paragraph while a pirate closed on their stern, which is a ridiculous thing to ask of anyone. And the torch-lit Sea Cave and the reworked storms, which the playtest crew has been sailing for weeks, reach the main game today. The Codex here is generated straight from the game's own source, and it's rebuilt for this update — so what it tells you about a skill, a storm or a hull is what the build actually does. Play on Steam.
Playtest · v1.3.0
Learn the ropes, then read the sky
The biggest teaching-and-weather drop yet, now with the playtest crew. A new guided tutorial replaces the old text cards — it walks you through sailing, the wind, every ammo type, raking fire, ramming, and the whole port, hands-on. And storms got rebuilt from the sky down: drifting cloud decks that ride the actual wind, squalls that darken from pale overcast to a black ceiling — the darker the deck, the harder the lightning — and thunder you hear rolling in from upwind before the first bolt falls.
August 11, 2026
The First Sea is free — demo out now
Pirate Twist has a free demo: Captain Rourke and the full First Sea — pirate fleets, the torch-lit Sea Cave, a five-wave port siege, and a named boss captain finale. No time limit, no locked systems, the complete loop from broadside to Port refit. It's the link to send the crewmate who's been on the fence. Grab it on the store page.
July 15, 2026
Pirate Twist is OUT NOW in Early Access
The wheel is yours. Pirate Twist is out on Steam — the full core loop, the four-track combat, and the three-sea campaign, 15% off through launch week. You are the captain, and the ship is yours to build. Early Access is where the community takes the helm: your runs, your feedback, and your reviews steer what comes next. Play on Steam · Read the launch announcement.
Playtest · v0.2.1
The Scourge joins the fleet
A combined-arms elite that reads the fight and switches its hand mid-engagement — round shot, fire, or a ram straight into your hull. It shows up more often the deeper a campaign runs. Sharpen your positioning; this one punishes a lazy broadside.
Playtest · v0.2.0
Combat overhaul — choose your shot
Cannons reshaped from the keel up. Pick your ammo, read the wind, and pick your moment — a broadside isn't free, and neither is the reload. Rake a stern for the high-skill payoff, or ram bow-first and set up the point-blank return.