Open now · By request
Barbarossa playtest
by Stellar Remnants
A naval strategy sandbox set in the golden age of piracy. Found your own faction, trade and fight your way across an archipelago of rival powers, and take the helm yourself in real-time sea battles. The islands are out there waiting to be found. What you make of them is up to you.
It's free to ask. The developer chooses who gets in.
- Access
- By request
- On playtest since
- Nov 12, 2026
- Planned release
- Coming soon
- Developer
- Stellar Remnants
- Platforms
- Windows
- Players
- Single-player
- Languages
- English
How to join the Barbarossa playtest
- Open the game's Steam page with the Request access button. Sign in to Steam if it asks.
- Request access to the Barbarossa playtest there. It's free and doesn't commit you to anything.
- The developer lets players in, often in batches, so it can take a while. Steam emails you when you're in, and the playtest appears in your library.
New to playtests? How Steam playtests work
About Barbarossa
The crowns are at war, the pirates hide in the coves, and the merchants will sell to anyone who pays. Somewhere among the islands, a new flag is about to go up: yours.
Found your own faction, raise your colors and set sail. Where you go from there is up to you.
A World That Doesn't Wait
Every island lives a life of its own. Ports farm, fish and build ships, merchant fleets carry real cargo from harbor to harbor, and rival powers go to war, make alliances and fall to their neighbors, whether or not you're watching.
Your Story, Your Way
You might start out hauling rum between ports, picking up tavern gossip to find where it sells best. Then you take a harbor master's contract to hunt down an outlaw, lose half your rigging to chain shot, and limp home with a prize ship in tow. You hire a sharp-eyed navigator and hand over a squadron to command. Before long you're storming an enemy harbor, and the island that used to trade with you flies your colors.
At the Helm
When it comes to a fight, you're the one steering. Sail your flagship with the wind, bring her guns around and fire the broadside yourself while the rest of your fleet follows your orders. Tear their sails, sweep their decks, bring down their masts, or lay alongside and board.
Every Ship Is Its Parts
Sails, helm, guns and crew are all cargo you can buy, sell, loot or have made. Refit the ships you have, or order a new one from the yard and bring the parts yourself.
A Sea You Have to Learn
You only know what you've seen. A port starts as a tavern rumor and only becomes real when you make landfall. Land bends the routes and the wind turns with the seasons, so the fastest way home is rarely a straight line.
Rule What You Take
Run your islands your way: build workshops and forts, set the duties, appoint a governor. Every contract you take and every ship you sink shapes what kind of faction you become.
Merchant prince, privateer or island lord: the flag is yours. What it stands for is up to you.
From the game's Steam page.
