One of my favorite pirate games, Sea of Thieves, is unfortunately not available on the PlayStation 5.
In fact, when it comes to searching for pirate games on the PlayStation Store, you have a very limited selection to choose from.
However, I’ve done the research and come up with a shortlist of the best pirate games for PS5. So, if you’re looking to ride the ocean waves and make people walk the plank, read on to see the best picks of the bunch.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered
- Genre: Action-adventure, Stealth
- Developers: Ubisoft
- PlayStation Release Date: March 20, 2018
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime (Main Story/Objectives): 10 hours, 30 minutes
Assassin’s Creed: Rogue was initially published by Ubisoft in 2014. It is the seventh installment in the Assassin’s Creed series, and one among a couple of Assassin’s Creed games that involve a bunch of pirate-inspired gameplay.
Considering the fact that the game was released for the seventh generation of consoles, including the PlayStation 3, Ubisoft had to release a remastered edition for the eighth generation in 2018.
If you’re familiar with the gameplay in Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, then you already have a good idea of what Rogue is like.
In a similar fashion to the older title, your character will be traveling across land and sea, toughing it out with enemies in sea battles and plundering ships all over the North Atlantic coast.
There’s a twist here, however. Instead of being one of the Assassins going after Templar targets, here, your role will be to defend these targets and attack the Assassins before they can get to them.
To upgrade your gear, you need to do some pirate stuff to make money. You can also kill animals on land or fish in the sea (especially whales) for materials. Upgradeable items include ammo, health, and outfits.
Although this remaster is for the PS4, the game is backward compatible with PS5.
The improved picture quality and detail levels that were implemented on the PS4 look even better on the PS5 with better shadows and high-detail textures. Of course, the game runs smoother too.
It still does not match up to games that were released or remastered specifically for the PS5, and the length of the story leaves much to be desired at only 10 hours, but you can drag it out quite a bit more if you want.
Due to the dearth of options when it comes to pirate games on the ninth gen console, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue is still one of the best PS5 pirate games.
Port Royale 4
- Genre: Turn-based strategy
- Developers: Gaming Minds Studios
- PlayStation Release Date: 2021
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime (Main Story/Objectives): N/A
Port Royale 4 is a much more recent game than the aforementioned Rogue.
The game was initially published by Kalypso Media in September 2020, and it has since made its way to the PS5 with an update that was released about a year after.
Right from the opening scene of Port Royale, you’re greeted with pirate characters doing pirate stuff, with an accompanying soundtrack that matches the scene perfectly.
When you do get into the game itself, you’ll see that there’s more to it than just sailing across the seas and plundering unfortunate ships. No, instead, these pirates are a lot more intentional about how they build their wealth.
Most of the work that you’ll be doing involves building trade networks between various ports in the Caribbean seas and consequently growing your empire across your 17th-century colony of Spain, France, England, or the Netherlands.
It’s a steep learning curve where you learn which deals make the most sense at a specific time, and you learn the best way to strike deals that work for you and the party you’re negotiating with.
Port Royale 4 is definitely more a strategy game than epic adventure or action, and if you want the experience of a pirate cum businessperson, then you should give it a whirl.
On the PS5 version, Port Royale 4 features a native 4K resolution with a framerate of 30fps. It’s not the smoothest on paper but it runs pretty well in reality.
The enhanced details provided by the improved resolution also give the game a fresh coat of paint that improves the overall visual experience.
If you were already playing the game on the PS4, you’ll be happy to know that you can migrate your save to the PS5 when you upgrade.
Greedfall: Gold Edition
- Genre: Action, RPG
- Developers: Spiders
- PlayStation Release Date: June 30, 2021
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime (Main Story/Objectives): 23 hours
Greedfall is an action role-playing and adventure game that was published by Focus Entertainment in late 2019.
The enhanced, gold edition of the game arrived on the PS5 in mid-2021, and with it came an expansion and support for 4K resolution.
From the start, you have almost completely free rein to build your character the way you want. You can customize pretty much anything including your skillset, gender, and looks.
Depending on the skillset that you choose, you will also have the option to choose weapon specialization, trap setting, or lethal magic.
I know you’re here for the pirate stuff, and I promise there’s a lot to see here. Exploration is a huge part of Greedfall, and you have a large expanse of the island, Teer Fradee, to unleash your adventurer’s spirit, pick up new gear, loot, and collect magic upgrades.
If things get a little too hot for you, you can adjust the difficulty setting such that your character suddenly gets a major skill and equipment boost that make you almost invincible. It is much easier to explore this way as you worry less about getting killed.
If you complete the game the first time, there’s a valid reason to go again because there are multiple possible endings.
The actions and decisions that you make over the course of your game determine which ending you get, so different choices will naturally lead to a different outcome.
I am recommending the gold edition of Greedfall because it comes with the DLC “The De Vaspe Conspiracy” which has extra juicy content for you for a bit more money. As far as visual updates go, you get a dual mode of use – Quality mode and Performance mode.
Quality mode lets you experience the game in native 4K at 30fps, while the alternative focuses on a higher framerate of 60fps with a reduced resolution.
Although the quality mode is a solid performer, the performance mode runs noticeably smoother in action sequences, and it still looks good too.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition
- Genre: RPG
- Developers: Obsidian Entertainment
- PlayStation Release Date: January 28, 2020
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime (Main Story/Objectives): 42 hours, 30 minutes
Pillars of Eternity, a series from Obsidian Entertainment, is another one of the best pirate games for PS5.
The selection for this list is the second installment of the series, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, and it was released on PlayStation in 2020, two years after it was published for PCs. Since then, the game has had quite a number of patches and updates due to a buggy initial release.
One of the main issues with the game on the PS4 was that loading times are incredibly slow, and that problem is significantly reduced on the PS5.
In terms of the story, this second installment continues the events from the first one, following the main character – The Watcher – played by you.
This time, The Watcher is brought back to life by a mysterious character and he sets off on a mission to hunt down the god that killed him.
The mission requires setting sail across the seas and following the trail of destruction left by the god across various ports.
To move ahead more quickly, you will need allies to work with. These will be your pirate-sin-arms, so to speak, and they will help you on your journey to seek revenge.
The Ultimate Edition comes with three expansions – Beast of Winter, Seeker Slayer Survivor, and Forgotten Sanctum. If that extra content is important to you, then this is the version you want to get.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag
- Genre: Action-adventure, Stealth
- Developers: Ubisoft
- PlayStation Release Date: November 2013
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime (Main Story/Objectives): 23 hours, 30 minutes
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is possibly the most popular pirate game for PS5 on this list, and it is also the oldest.
The game has not been remastered or remade since its 2013 release. However, when looking at options for the best pirate game for PS5, it is definitely still up there with the rest of the bunch.
The gameplay is heavily centered around sailing and using your pirate instincts to outsmart other pirates and pirate ships that you’ll encounter during your adventure.
You’ll have to kill many of them too, and you’ll find many creative ways to do so, although I think it would have been nice if “walking the plank” was a thing.
The graphics are, well, 2013 graphics. At the time, they were pretty stunning, but they don’t hold up as well today. However, they’re not bad still, and it helps that the game runs as smoothly as possible on the PS5.
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag was one of the first and is one of the few games that delve into the world of piracy in the modern era, and it is arguably the most enjoyable of the lot.
There’s just something about the lure of the open sea in Black Flag that is not replicated to the same effect in other pirate games, and I imagine that the game would get a lot of love from fans of the series and newbies alike if a remake or even a remaster is eventually released.
Final Words
This list isn’t the most substantial but pirate games are a very niche category.
If none of the games on the list is doing it for you, then you may want to consider looking into other categories or genres that have significantly more options.
Head over to my selection of the best PS5 games in various genres to get started.
