Captain Blood Set to Release After Nearly Two Decades of Anticipation

After spending two decades adrift in development limbo, Captain Blood finally has a release date. This eagerly anticipated hack-and-slash action adventure is set to debut on May 6, 2025, and will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, and Mac. The game promises to deliver adrenaline-pumping combat and dazzling combos, all wrapped in a graphic novel-inspired visual style.

Seawolf Studio and General Arcade, along with publisher SNEG, are bringing us the long-delayed title. Captain Blood is a revival of a once Xbox 360-bound game, taking its inspiration from the works of Italian author Rafael Sabatini. His novels explore the daring escapades of the titular Captain Blood during the 17th century on the Spanish Main. Players will don the captain’s boots for an adventure packed with piracy and, as the name suggests, plenty of blood. The development journey for Captain Blood has been tumultuous, with the game seemingly vanishing after its last public showing in 2010. It’s reminiscent of another game with a rocky path, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Faced with challenges like war, cyberattacks, and a destructive fire, the development team overcame numerous hurdles before successfully releasing the game in November 2024, following the 2009 success of Call of Pripyat.

The recent release date announcement came via a brisk 51-second trailer, confirming Captain Blood’s debut across multiple platforms on May 6, 2025. With the protagonist navigating treacherous waters in search of both treasure and infamy, the game is poised to stand alongside some of gaming’s most notorious pirates, like Far Cry 3’s Vaas Montenegro and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag’s Edward Kenway. Players are set to face waves of enemies, engaging in hack-and-slash combat that boasts visually striking combo moves.

With its release date now set in stone, Captain Blood emerges as one of the most anticipated games of 2025, joining titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, The First Berserker: Khazan, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Fans have enthusiastically welcomed the official reveal, praising its impressive graphics and action-packed sequences, and calling for more revivals of Xbox 360-era games. Feedback from the 2024 demo emphasized solid character development but expressed a desire for an expanded selection of combos in the final version.

Players have awaited a definitive pirate game, and while Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones initially seemed set to fulfill that role, Captain Blood might now be poised to take the crown. Offering a thrilling pirate-themed experience, the game features intense ship battles and an arsenal of era-appropriate weaponry, all enhanced by a unique graphic novel art style. This combination could potentially elevate Captain Blood to the ranks of the greatest hack-and-slash games of all time.