KingsIsle Entertainment recently announced the soft launch of their new mobile game, Pirate101: Plunder Hunt, on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. This announcement came via their Discord with an accompanying article on their website, and it will undoubtedly stir up some excitement among the Pirate101 and Wizard101 communities, who have long cherished the characters, stories, and mysteries of the Spiral universe, and are looking to take them with them on their mobile devices.
Before you gear up in your swashbuckling pants for some Pirate101 mayhem, the team at KingsIsle wants you to know that Pirate101: Plunder Hunt is not a direct port of Pirate101. Instead, it's a completely separate game with its own mechanics and adventures. While it utilizes Pirate101 assets and is set in the same universe, it's more of an extension of the Pirate101 brand rather than a continuation of the Pirate101 MMO. That also means that players will likely be a little surprised to find out that the game will not have any multiplayer at all, and is instead a standalone single-player game. Plunder Hunt is currently in a very early alpha state, with its primary focus being to gauge interest in a Pirate101 mobile game and gather early game metrics.
The development of Pirate101: Plunder Hunt is a collaboration between KingsIsle developers and an internal Gamigo team. This partnership represents KingsIsle's first internal game partnership, with hopes for many more in the future. Most importantly, the development of this new game will not impact Pirate101 in any way, which KingsIsle cannot stress enough as they have just recently returned to form on the development of new updates to Pirate101 with an aggressive content scheduled planned for 2024.
If you’re still prepped to set sail, you will be rewarded for participation during the testing phase of Pirate101: Plunder Hunt with rewards in Pirate101. The reward will include a Batacuda Mount which you can earn by progressing far enough along in Plunder Hunt, or it can also be obtained by making a $1.99 purchase in the game's in-app store.
Pirate101 launched in 2012, and is currently in ongoing development and published by KingsIsle Entertainment. The game's lore revolves around a tale of mercenaries, magic ships, buried treasures, and the adventures that ensue after the discovery of the Spiral by Marco Pollo. Over the past 11 years, Pirate101 has garnered a dedicated player base, with its rich history that shares the world with the popular magical realm of Wizard101. Plunder Hunt is KingIsle’s first new game in more than 11 years, and although the KingsIsle team is only consulting the Gamigo team on building the game, it’s certainly an exciting prospect in expanding the broad Spiral Universe players have come to love.
Pirates can try out Pirate101: Plunder Hunt on iOS and Android devices, and provide feedback through various channels, including Discord, and by leaving reviews in the app store.