Video games allow you to live lives you'd never get a chance to live in real life. For example, the average person today will never get the opportunity to sail the seas and live as a pirate. In all fairness, it's a dangerous life, so you probably wouldn't want to do so anyway, but the idea of it is exciting.

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Thankfully, video games allow you to experience that excitement from the safety of your own home. And there have been some great pirate games in recent years. As such, there's an abundance of fantastic ones on most platforms. The following examples are the best.

Updated February 14, 2023 By Ben Jessey: While a pirate sounds like an interesting type of person to revolve a game around, not many titles actually do it. Just trying to think of a handful of pirate games off the top of your head isn't easy.

Thankfully, though, some developers have provided us with a bunch of excellent pirate adventures over the years. Titles like Assasin's Creed Black Flag and Sea Of Thieves are the most famous, but there are others. In this list, we highlight some of the best ones. And now we've updated the piece to add a few more.

21 Sticks And Bones

Sticks And Bones Screenshot Of Sword Fighting Between Skeleton And Pirate

Sticks And Bones is not one of the most famous pirate games, but it is among the most original. The title presents a comedic short story about a pirate who doesn't let death stop him. Even as a skeleton, he intends to reach the treasure he desires.

The title doesn't stick to one form of gameplay, as the game mechanics change based on the situation. One minute you may be balancing on a barrel, while the next, you may be fighting a foe. So, the game is basically a series of different mini-games.

20 One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 Screenshot Of Monkey D. Luffy Fighting Large Pirate

While there have been many games based on the One Piece anime, Pirate Warriors 4 is better than most. It provides a solid retelling of several of the anime arcs and gives an original take on the Wano arc. As the series is so big, it can't cover everything, but the main moments are included.

As for the gameplay, it's action-packed and over the top. You go up against hordes of enemies at once and use your significant powers to overwhelm them with a litany of different characters. Most of the characters in the anime are playable, including the members of The Straw Hat Pirates.

19 Paper Pirates

Paper Pirates Screenshot Of Vote

When you think of pirate games, you probably don't consider a title like Paper Pirates. This is because it's a social deduction game in the vein of Among Us and Deceit. In it, you play as a group of pirates on a voyage - or at least, that's how it seems. In reality, one of the people among you is actually a ghost.

The goal for the crew is to find out who that is and vote to throw them overboard. The ghosts obviously want to see innocent crew members given to the sea instead. To work out who is who, the captain needs to see how people do with their assigned tasks.

18 Risen 2: Dark Waters

Risen 2 Screenshot of Fighting Animals

The first Risen was set in a traditional fantasy world, so it's a little surprising that the sequel is a pirate game. It is still an RPG with fantasy elements, but it's more of a swash-buckling adventure.

In the said adventure, you travel to different islands on the map using your ship. At the various locations, you can explore, complete quests, and fight people or animals. In battles, you have the traditional pirate weaponry to use, along with some special abilities. The fantasy elements come into play during the story, as it all revolves around mystical artifacts.

17 Rogue Galaxy

Kisala and Jaster standing triumphantly in front of a ship's sails with Jaster holding his sword over his shoulder

You probably don't expect to see the word 'galaxy' in the name of a pirate game. However, it works for this RPG, as Rogue Galaxy is both a pirate and sci-fi adventure. As such, the main characters ride around on a spaceship that looks like a pirate vessel.

They use the ship to travel between different planets in their quest to save the galaxy. While on these planets, you get plenty of time to explore to your heart's content. In the process, you will get into plenty of fights, which are hack-and-slash affairs.

16 SteamWorld Heist

SteamWorld Heist Screenshot Of Turn-based Gameplay

Who says a pirate needs to sail the seven seas or be made of flesh and bone? SteamWorld Heist has you control a team of robotic pirates who do their business in space. Your goal is to shoot your way through enemy ships while trying to acquire some loot.

It's a turn-based title that's more of a puzzler than an action RPG. This is because, for every encounter, you must try to ricochet your bullets off the walls and ceiling to hit your enemies.

15 Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Video Game

Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean Screenshot Of Jack Sparrow In Front Of Shipwreck

Pirates of the Caribbean is the most famous pirate franchise in all media. Yet, the video games based don't have a great track record. That being said, the Lego version is a solid title.

It re-tells the first four Pirates of the Caribbean movies in Lego form. So, you get to control blocky versions of all the main characters, including Captain Jack Sparrow and William Turner. And in terms of gameplay, it's very reminiscent of the Lego games that came before, meaning you smash through levels and solve the occasional puzzle.

14 Flinthook

Flinthook Screenshot Of Grapplehook

In Flinthook, you play as a space pirate who visits different spaceships looking for loot. These aren't deserted vessels, though, as there are usually plenty of enemies aboard.

You must use your powerful pistol, slow-mo abilities, and grappling hook to avoid getting killed by these adversaries. They aren't just rival pirates, either. You can find all sorts of monsters on the ships you enter. These dangerous journies are worth it because of the rewards you find. The game plays like a fast-paced action platformer.

13 Port Royale 4

Port Royal 4

Despite its mixed reviews on Steam, Port Royal 4 is about as Pirate-y as it gets. It's your task to establish various trade routes between 17th-century Caribbean powers while protecting your goods against Pirates. Diehard fans of the Port Royal series, which dates all the way back to 2002, by the way, were not fond of some of the launch DLC problems.

On the plus side, the game has great graphics, an awesome soundtrack, and some pretty complex trading systems that can easily soak up a few dozen hours of gameplay. Whether or not you've dipped your toe into Port Royal before, it might be worth checking out.

12 ArcheAge

Pirate Games - ArcheAge

Yes, this unfortunately ill-fated MMORPG still exists. It was hugely popular at launch and saw some healthy player numbers, but over time those have dwindled, which is the curse of many MMOs. Archeage isn't even all about pirates, but it does have one of the biggest and brightest open worlds that lets you explore the waves however you want.

You can be a pirate or a humble merchant, the choice is really up to you. The game is soon switching over to be supported by Kakao Games rather than Gamigo, and that's mostly just server support. It's unsure, really, how many more updates the game will receive in the coming months.

11 Lost Ark

Lost Ark Berserker2

Lost Ark is an ARPG MMO, and a huge aspect of the game is taking to the sea with a pirate crew, plundering islands, completing quests, and upgrading your character and ship.

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There are hundreds of islands to explore - an overwhelming amount that can be a bit difficult to get to grips with, but the game quickly unfurls into adventure, battles, and of course, grinding.

10 Man O’ War: Corsair

man o war corsair pirates and boat

This game is for the players that want a little bit of sword and sorcery mixed in with their pirate adventures. Man O’ War: Corsair features many of the races from the Warhammer series of games; such as dwarves, orcs, elves, and Skaven (rat men).

The high seas are also populated by giant sea creatures waiting to attack your ship. The graphics in Man O’ War: Corsair are a little rough around the edges, but at times they are quite nice. The way the lanterns bathe your ship with a soft glow at night is a very nice effect.

9 Tempest

Tempest is an open-world role-playing game at heart, and the role is that of a pirate. In Tempest, you can explore the open seas between three continents. The interface for organizing your crew is made simple and straightforward.

Tempest also allows you to train your crew so they’ll operate more efficiently during a battle. The ship-to-ship battles in Tempest are fun, but like Port Royale 4, they could be improved. The isometric overhead view while sailing the open seas is visually appealing. The water is especially well done, with surface conditions changing with the weather.

8 Pillars Of Eternity 2: Deadfire

Pillars Of Eternity 2 Deadfire

Perhaps one of the most uniquely creative Pirate games ever, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire merges swashbuckling with the mystical fantasy setting that Pillars Of Eternity is known for.

This isometric RPG is a sequel to the award-winning Pillars of Eternity, and it allows you to explore a vast, single-player world with Dungeon and Dragons mechanics, great graphics, an awesome soundtrack, and enough Pirate fun to keep you occupied for hours. One of the best.

7 Skies Of Arcadia

At its core, Skies of Arcadia is a role-playing game that features ship-to-ship battles. It's a classic of the genre, recently influencing the indie title Black Skylands. The main characters are Vyse and Akika, who are both members of the Blue Rogue faction of air pirates. This game features excellent ship-to-ship battles that are not handled in a conventional way, but rather play more like a type of quick-time event. And it's one of the best uses of QTE, ever.

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Some battles take a bit too long to finish, but they are fun and well animated. The graphics in Skies of Arcadia are brightly colored and cartoonish. It is because the graphics are cartoonish they have held up quite well over time, but they do take some of the seriousness out of the game.

6 Assassin’s Creed: Rogue

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue is a game set in the golden age of piracy. This addition to the Assassin’s Creed series is shorter than most other entries. That being said, Rogue still has a huge world to explore, which is full of interesting things to do.

Plus, it has an intriguing plot where you only play a bit of the game as an Assassin. For much of the adventure, you control a member of the usually villainous Templars. As such, you get a different perspective on the Assassin and Templar conflict. Throughout it all, you get to sail around the vast ocean.

5 Sid Meier’s Pirates!

This series started in 1984 as a Commodore 64 game and was considered groundbreaking at the time. Sid Meier’s Pirates! was remade in 2004 to give it better graphics and gameplay while maintaining the fun of the original.

Pirates! may have a cartoonish style to its graphics, but it is perhaps the best pirate simulator ever made. This game doesn’t bother much with a plot or story, instead Pirates! focuses on providing a pure open-world pirating experience. There are even side quests, like searching for legendary pirates to defeat, following treasure maps, and courting a governor’s daughter.

4 Elite Dangerous

Pirate Games - Elite Dangerous#

Pirates in space? Sign us up. Elite Dangerous lets you take on the role of a space pirate like no other space game, although a lot of them do let you do exactly that. ED has some of the best ship customization and gameplay that really rewards you for being a pirate, either by taking down NPC ships or hunting other players. If you find a player mining ship stacked with ore there's no reason why you can't destroy it and take their loot.

With a fun bounty system and lots of different ways to play as a pirate, Elite Dangerous lets you live the life of a true space outlaw. The game is a total space sandbox where the stars are your oyster.

3 The Monkey Island Series

At this point, what more can be said about the Monkey Island series from Lucasarts? They are regarded by many gamers as the best point-and-click adventure games ever made. The Monkey Island games put the player in control of wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood. The first words spoken in the first game are Guybrush declaring, “I want to be a pirate”.

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Hallmarks of the Monkey Island series are vibrant and well-drawn graphics, smart and funny dialogue, atmospheric and memorable music, and just the right amount of difficulty. The third game in the series even allowed for ship-to-ship battles. These battles may have been a bit rudimentary but were a welcome addition nonetheless.

2 Sea Of Thieves

sea of thieves boats

Sea of Thieves is among the most talked about pirate games in recent memory. And it deserves the attention as it's a thoroughly enjoyable multiplayer experience. It's best enjoyed with a friend or multiple friends.

With your shipmates, you can explore the vast sea, doing everything you expect a pirate game to let you do. For instance, you collect treasure, defeat pirate captains, and get into ship battles with other players. What parts of the pirate life you engage with is up to you as it's a sandbox experience.