Between games like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Sea of Thieves, the pirate genre has been on the rise in recent years. While those games have certainly taken the genre to new heights, it has a long history of quality games from across different gameplay styles. After all, who doesn’t want to pilot a ship around the world, fighting off baddies and stealing treasure? These games from yesteryear might lack the polish of modern pirate adventures, but they’re still worth playing for anyone looking for a new swashbuckling adventure.
Here are five classic pirate games you might’ve forgotten about.
5) Risen 2: Dark Waters
Risen 2, from developer Piranha Bytes, is not a traditional pirate game. It’s set in the world of Risen, which is a fantasy world inspired by Sicily. However, instead of friendly Italians, you’ll be fighting off mythical creatures who can easily overwhelm you. While the first game is more of a standard fantasy action RPG, Risen 2 takes to the seas for a fantastical pirate-themed adventure in a land based on the Caribbean.
There are multiple ways to approach each situation, making Risen 2 deeply replayable for anyone who wants to see everything. Risen 2 also brings equal parts humor and excellent pirate theming. Those two things generally go hand-in-hand for less serious swashbuckling adventures, but Piranhha Bytes really knocked it out of the park. Unfortunately, Risen 2 can be a buggy mess with frustrating combat. If you can get past those issues, there’s a solid, if flawed, pirate game waiting for you.
4) Sea Dogs
Sea Dogs is a weird one because the RPG has several sequels, most of which do not carry the Sea Dogs name due to licensing issues. One of those is even called Pirates of the Caribbean, because Disney acquired the game midway through development and marketed it as a tie-in to The Curse of the Black Pearl, despite the game’s plot being largely unrelated to the film.
That said, Sea Dogs has an important place in gaming history because it was one of the first successful games from a Russian developer, helping set the tone for the country’s future releases. Like Risen, it has its fair share of bugs and frustrating mechanics, but players looking for a relatively in-depth pirate RPG should consider giving this 2000 RPG a second glance. Though you might consider waiting for the upcoming remaster.
3) Sid Meier’s Pirates
Sid Meier’s Pirates is one of the original pirate games, released on the Commodore 64 in 1987. It’s also the first game to feature the legendary developer’s name in the title. The original game aims to be a full simulation of everything a pirate might do, giving players free rein to create their own story.
It has since had several remasters and remakes, most recently the 2004 version from Firaxis. While the gameplay remains relatively similar, the action is taken into 3D, and Firaxis added new minigames like ballroom dancing. Toss in improved land combat, and you have one of the best pirate games of all time. Unfortunately for fans, Meier and his team have never gone back, instead focusing on the incredibly lucrative Civilization series.
2) Skies of Arcadia
Skies of Arcadia isn’t your traditional pirate game, because there’s not much water involved. Instead, this game is about space pirates, which means it’s more about the vibe than actually replicating what makes pirating around the open seas so exciting. Still, the 2000 classic from developer Overworks and publisher Sega is an all-timer of an RPG that puts a big focus on exploration.
Thankfully, some of the team involved also worked on Panzer Dragoon, so you know the 3D airship flying is going to feel great. Skies of Arcadia also has a fun combat system and an engaging story. Plus, it looked great on the Dreamcast, making it one of the system’s best games. Sure, the GameCube port felt a little dated when it launched a few years later, but it’s still one of the system’s best games for RPG fans.
1) Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Courtesy of Obsidian Entertainment
Pillars of Eternity 2 took a big swing and turned the isometric action into a swashbuckling adventure filled with strategic combat and island exploration. You’ll hire a crew of swarthy pirates and navigate through the difficult waters of diplomacy with the four factions vying for control of Deadfire.
Developer Obsidian took PoE‘s combat to the next level, letting you further customize each character with new sub-classes. This gave the combat even more flair and led to even more strategic opportunities that weren’t possible in the original game. Add in one of the better central narratives of 2018, and you have a stone-cold pirating classic that every RPG fan should give a try. Sadly, it didn’t sell well, but the PoE universe isn’t completely dead, thanks to the 2025 release of Avowed.
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