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Patch History and Modernization

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

Pixel Piracy launched in 2014 under Quadro Delta with Re-Logic publishing, reached consoles in February 2016, then went dark when the studio went bankrupt around mid-2017. Original developer Vitali Kirpu returned alone in January 2023 and spent five months polishing the game, adding content, and moving it to a 64-bit build, finishing in June 2023. Nothing has shipped since, and the current build is the best version of the game and not a different one.

Pixel Piracy has an unusual development timeline: a well-publicized launch under a Terraria-adjacent publisher, a console port, a studio bankruptcy, a five-year silence, and a surprise solo revival that ran for five months in 2023 and then stopped.

The 2023 work was polish, bug fixing, localization, and additive content on an unchanged core loop. Kirpu's own description was that the game "deserves to get some polish" and that when he finished, "the game is in a good state now, it's the best version of Pixel Piracy". Advice written before the revival is dated in places, but the game it describes is recognizably the game you are playing.

Era 1: Inception, Early Access, and Launch (2013-2015)​

The foundational era of the game was defined by rapid iteration under the Quadro Delta studio banner.

  • December 2013 (v0.4.x): Early Access opened on 2013-12-12. Patch 0.4.0.9 on 2013-12-16 added the Doctor class, auto-save on setting sail, and the salary system. The battle system was reworked the following day in 0.4.1.0.
  • March 2014 (v0.50): Re-Logic, the creators of Terraria, took over publishing. The same patch that announced the deal added the Starfury, a Terraria weapon, and other Terraria-derived weapons followed.
  • July 2014 (1.0 PC Launch): The official PC launch, developed by Quadro Delta with Vitali Kirpu programming and Alexander Poysky producing. Achievements arrived a little later, on 2014-12-22, with all 31 shipping at once.
  • 2015 (the Enhanced Edition): Not a round of minor tweaks. Quadro Delta described it as "a series of HUGE updates and sweeping changes" in which they "rebuilt the entire AI engine, restructured a ton of gameplay elements". Several achievement triggers were fixed across these patches.

Era 2: Console Porting, Bankruptcy, and Hiatus (2016-2022)​

  • February 16, 2016: Console release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at $14.99, published by 505 Games and ported by Abstraction Games. Reviews at the time called the console build buggy and a poor port.
  • 2016 - 2017: Active development wound down. Kirpu, describing himself as the former CEO, later wrote that Quadro Delta went bankrupt, and his 2018 post saying "it took over six months to tell you this" places it around mid-2017. He attributed it to Pixel Privateers underperforming, alongside an allegation about Alexander Poysky selling generated CD keys. That is one party's account of a contested split and no corporate record is cited.
  • A note on the era's worst bug: the long-running crew-killing bug was a PC problem, not a console one. Pirates would get stuck at the left edge of islands and drown when ordered to move, and players complained the studio was working on the console port instead of fixing it.

Era 3: The Kirpu Revival (2023)​

Vitali Kirpu returned alone in January 2023 and patched the game roughly weekly for five months, from 1.2.0 to 1.2.32. This was polish and additive content, not an architectural rewrite.

  • January 30, 2023: "Pixel Piracy 2023 Update 1" reopens development, fixing the long-standing bug that stranded pirates on islands.
  • February 8, 2023 (1.2.7): The three-column shop UI.
  • February 13, 2023: The Shrimp Legacy DLC releases.
  • February 14, 2023 (1.2.11 and 1.2.12): Backward compatibility added for all saves from before 1.2.10. Vitality is rebalanced to be 50% less powerful.
  • February 17, 2023 (1.2.15): The Witch Hut, and a new Neutral ship encounter type starting with Fishermen.
  • February 24, 2023 (1.2.17): Passive XP restored after a heavy nerf five days earlier. Defeating a Legendary Pirate now raises subsequent difficulty by 50% and not 100%.
  • March 10, 2023 (1.2.19): Pixel Piracy moves to a 64-bit client. The same patch adds the Adoption Center and Baby Pirates, who need no salary and are always happy, plus the Rabies status effect.
  • March 17, 2023 (1.2.20): Arsenic Potion added to the Witch Store.
  • March 24, 2023 (1.2.21): Hell, Suicide Island, and the Charnel Voodoo and Rumour Man NPCs, along with the Hell achievement.
  • March 31, 2023 (1.2.22): Agility's dodge contribution drops from 5% to 3% per point.
  • June 16, 2023 (1.2.32): The last patch notes ever published.
  • December 6, 2023: The final build of the game, and the day Kirpu announced Pixel Piracy Online.

Where Things Stand Now​

Nothing has shipped for Pixel Piracy since December 6, 2023, and no patch notes exist after June 16, 2023. Kirpu wrote in November 2023 that he had burned out and stopped.

Pixel Piracy Online has not released. Its Steam page is still marked "Coming soon" and it has never had a public build. The last word on it was a development update in December 2023.

note

The 64-bit move in 1.2.19 was a build target, listed as a single line in a content patch. It did not break save compatibility, and no source records any 2023 save wipe. The save wipes in this game's history were in 2013 and 2014. Any claim that the 2023 update invalidated old saves has no basis.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Is Pixel Piracy still being updated?

No. Vitali Kirpu revived solo development in January 2023 and patched weekly until 1.2.32 on June 16, 2023. The final build went out on December 6, 2023. He said in November 2023 that he had burned out and stopped, and nothing has shipped since.

Why does old Pixel Piracy advice not work anymore?

Mostly it still does. The 2023 run was polish, bug fixing, localization, and new content on an unchanged core loop, and nothing from 2014 or 2015 was removed. What did change is worth knowing: Vitality was halved in February 2023, Agility's dodge dropped from 5 to 3 percent per point in March, and passive XP was retuned. Stat tables written before 2023 are the part to distrust.

Who published Pixel Piracy?

Re-Logic, the creators of Terraria, took over publishing in March 2014 and stayed on through the PC launch and for years afterward. The same patch that announced the deal added the Starfury, a Terraria weapon. The console versions were published separately by 505 Games and ported by Abstraction Games. Steam today lists Vitali Kirpu as both developer and publisher.

Will my old Pixel Piracy save files still load?

Yes. The 64-bit move in March 2023 did not break saves, and patch 1.2.11 specifically added backward compatibility for saves from before 1.2.10. The save wipes in this game's history happened in 2013 and 2014.

What did the Shrimp Legacy DLC add to Pixel Piracy?

It released on February 13, 2023. A separate patch four days later added a Neutral ship encounter type starting with Fishermen. Neutral ships were not new to the game, though. They existed back in 2014, when boarding one would turn it hostile.

Has Pixel Piracy Online released?

No. It was announced on December 6, 2023, its Steam page is still marked Coming soon, and it has never had a public build. The most recent word on it was a development update later that month.