9 November 2026
The Cursed Shipyard Opens at Raven's Cove
Deep in the torch-lit cave beside El Patron's Mine, a hammer rings where no living smith works. Silas Gravesend, the Cursed Shipwright, is back at his anvil, and he sells ships that refuse to die. The Cerberus (850,000 gold) is the fastest hull on the sea. The Phantom (900,000) fires the heaviest broadside afloat. The Damnation (950,000), a Ship of the Line raised from the deep with skeleton masts and a storm of her own, is the toughest ship ever to sail. Each cursed ship outruns and outlasts her living sister at full upgrades, every broadside she fires is Fury, anyone on her deck guns fires Fury for free, and her timbers mend themselves between fights. Silas sells only to pirates of Notoriety 50 and Sailing 30, one of each per pirate, and the curse sets them for good: no upgrades, no ranked matches. To make room for his prices, the gold cap is now 1,000,000. Bring a heavy purse to Raven's Cove, and mind the jokes: he has had a very long time to work on them. Open Pirates Online and it updates itself.
9 November 2026
The Caribbean Comes Alive: 2013 Patrols Return
Enemies walk their 2013 patrol routes again, stopping at each lookout point along the way, and townsfolk and animals stroll around town and stop when you talk to them. Ships now appear twice as far away while you sail (on High world detail). Fixed: townsfolk standing frozen until you spoke to them, the flicker on the ground and on your pirate (the rendered shadow is gone; every pirate has the classic shadow), and Fort Charles is back to a single Zachariah Sharp instead of a crowd of level 1 copies. The launcher news now scrolls back through older posts. Open Pirates Online and it updates itself.
8 November 2026
Sea Battle Fixes
The smoke trailing your ship at sea is gone. Ship vs Ship no longer pays bounty gold for sinkings; your rating is the prize. The ranked sea battle page no longer overlaps its text, the game no longer crashes when you switch pirates, and the launcher news loads again.
8 November 2026
Ranked Matches & Trading Are Here!
Ranked play has arrived at the Lookout. Queue solo or with your team for Pirate vs Pirate or Ship vs Ship: everyone starts at 1000 and every win or loss moves your rating. Sail your own ship in ranked sea battles off Driftwood Sound. Reach a rating and click its badge on the Infamy page to unlock it. See the best pirates and teams on the new Leaderboards, in game and on this site. You can also trade gold and items with other pirates now: open a pirate's profile and press Trade.
8 November 2026
Launch Day Fixes & The Brethren Feast
The Brethren Feast is on at Tortuga until 1 December: a bonfire on the beach, roast pork off the spit, and Sid Shufflefoot and Jenny Jigfiddle playing by the fire. Also fixed today: caves that loaded forever, islands breaking up as your ship came in, anchoring and launching at every port, flickering hair, and the locked skills on your skill pages. Open Pirates Online and it updates itself before you press Play.
8 November 2026
Open To All: Be A Founder!
Open to everyone, free! Log in before 8 Feb 2027 and you're a Founder for good: a gold name and the Founder's coin.
3 November 2026
The Closed Beta Sets Sail!
Ahoy, mates! The Caribbean is open once more. Our first 100 beta keys are going out to brave pirates on our Discord. Make your account at piratesonline.net, claim your first ship in Port Royal, and mind the skeletons on Isla Perdida. Spot a bug? Tell us. Fair winds!
