Highly Anticipated New RPG Originally Slated for 2026 Quietly Delayed to Next Year

2026 has weirdly been a great year for pirate games. We had the long-awaited arrival of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced and the breakout success of Windrose. And let’s not forget that Hooded Horse is about to treat us to a new pirate-themed city builder in its upcoming Corsair Cove. Alas, one of the most exciting new open-sea RPGs expected out in 2026 looks to have been quietly delayed. According to a recent update to its Steam page, NetEase’s Sea of Remnants isn’t making it on the boat for the Year of the Pirate.

Though Joker Studio and NetEase have yet to make a big statement about it, eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed that the Steam release window for Sea of Remnants has been shifted back to next year. The game never announced a formal release date, but was aiming for a 2026 release window. However, following a recent update to its Steam page, the highly anticipated pirate RPG is now apparently slated for 2027. Here’s hoping it’s not February, which is starting to look every bit as crowded as this September.

Sea of Remnants Will No Longer Release in 2026, According to Its Steam Page

The official X account for Sea of Remnants hasn’t shared any new info since it announced the game will be at Gamescom later this month. That isn’t too surprising, as the account often goes weeks between updates. But according to SteamDB, the latest update to the Steam page for Sea of Remnants arrived on July 22nd. And that update included a small but significant change. The Store Release Date for Sea of Remnants, which was previously listed as a vague 2026 window, has been updated to 2027.

Given that Sea of Remnants still didn’t have a specific release date attached, it’s not surprising to see the release window shifted back. After all, 2026 is over halfway finished, and fall is already looking packed. Games are rushing to release in September ahead of GTA 6, a game not even a promising free-to-play pirate RPG wants to compete with. At this point, if your game isn’t ready to launch soon, waiting for 2027 is starting to seem like a much safer bet.

Despite what looks like a quiet delay from the original 2026 window, Sea of Remnants looks like it’ll have plenty to show off at Gamescom this year. The team is bringing a hands-on demo to the convention. Attendees will be able to experience the game’s exploration and combat up close and personal. And if my colleague’s recent experience with the game at Summer Game Fest is any indication, it should be a demo well worth experiencing.

For now, we haven’t gotten any official word about the game’s delay. So it’s unclear whether Sea of Remnants needs a bit more time in development or if the team is just charting a course for less crowded waters. But as February 2027 is fast filling up with the likes of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Fable, and now God of War Laufey, we’re probably looking at a mid-to-late 2027 release at this point. Regardless, it seems there will be one less pirate game to play in 2026, and one more to look forward to in 2027.

Are you excited to play Sea of Remnants when it does arrive? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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