Today, Crosswind Crew has announced that its eponymous debut game, Crosswind, will debut at some point next year on Steam Early Access. The studio also revealed a shift from the previous plan to deliver a free-to-play survival MMO to a more traditional premium survival game. Following the recent Alpha test, the developers surveyed players' preferences and behaviors and reached this conclusion.
New content, features, and gameplay will be added based on player feedback, such as the new biome and crew improvements shown in the summer teaser below. Crosswind Crew is also exploring new options available thanks to the transition to a paid experience, like the potential for mods and dedicated servers.
Crosswind is a survival game set in an alternative Age of Piracy. Featuring the classic "build, craft, survive" formula, it offers challenging boss fights, sea battles, boarding actions, and seamless ship-to-land gameplay. Driven by real-world characters and supernatural powers, the story unfolds as an epic fight against an ancient evil.
Players assume the role of a freelance captain who has been betrayed and stranded after a job gone wrong. What starts as a grounded story of survival and revenge quickly puts them in a conflict between empires, pirate clans, and mysterious dark powers looming on the horizon.
Crosswind lets players seamlessly continue their adventure from sea to land and vice versa: bombard coastal forts from afar, then close in and engage the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. Many different ships are available, from nimble cutters to frigates and even massive galleons.
Crosswind aims to be a refined and comprehensive survival experience at its core. Players will explore the game world's biomes to gather resources and then unleash their creativity through building and crafting. At first, they might build a shelter, which can eventually turn into a fully operational outpost. It is also possible to recruit and expand the crew to speed up harvesting and production.
In combat, a vast arsenal of melee weapons and firearms will be at the player's disposal. Movesets include parrying and dodging enemy attacks while using different strikes to the player's advantage, as well as managing food, potions, and oils to gain powerful buffs. Players will also find challenging bosses and defeating them will provide access to their juicy treasures. Of course, when in trouble, they might call on the aid of their friends via the co-op feature.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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