10 Best Pirate-Themed Video Games Of All Time, Ranked

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Pirates are one of the staples of beloved themes in fiction, including popular video game franchises such as and . Pirate games can allow players to explore different sides of the idea by getting to sail the seas and fighting other ruffians along the way, or simply enjoying a hunt for buried treasure. The human yearning for adventure and freedom can be perfectly conveyed in the theme, and many developers over the years have explored the idea through the creation of some incredible games.

While the classic thought of pirates brings to mind sailing the ocean through tropical weather or vicious storms in a large pirate ship, some games have explored going beyond the norm. Games such as and have placed a familiar pirate theme in less traditional settings of skies or even outer space. These prove that pirates can come in all types, and even evolve to cross over into other genres on occasion, while still holding fast to the theme.

Many pirate-themed games have been released over the years. This list looks at overall ratings, Metacritic scores, and popularity to choose the best of all time.

Although the game has a relatively low Metacritic score of 69, has had numerous updates and expansions over the years which have helped make it the definitive pirate video game. It islikely the first game to come to mind for many players when pirates are brought up and offers a chance for everyone to truly be pirates by playing however they would like to play. Whether someone chooses to focus on solo play or multiplayer, they can enjoy battling monsters, attacking other players, or seeking out treasure.

Playing as a pirate online in, players can work together to sail and maintain a ship. This portion of the game feels similar to, but it quickly becomes more akin to a game with pirates. offers three PvP modes for players to enjoy in Team Deathmatch, Capture The Booty, and Fortress Siege, with lobbies supporting 54 players for sufficiently large-scale showdowns. Although the release of