East Lansing, MI (September 16, 2022) — Ahoy, Me Hearties! Hoist the Jolly Roger and sharpen those cutlasses, as Will Winn Games’ pirate-themed online multiplayer brawler Plunder Panic is out now on Windows PC/Mac, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Steam Deck with full cross-platform play! It’s time to get your crew together and hoist your sails, just in time for International Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Get ready to flip those eye-patches and head into battle with up to 12 players (locally or online) in this retro-styled arcade beat-em-up that pits pixelated pirates vs. pirates in quick, round-based matches. With enough weapons, items, modes, and “modify-arrs” to fill the biggest deep-sea treasure chest, Plunder Panic is the perfect game to cement friendships and foster rivalries!
Taking inspiration from the couch co-op games of old, Plunder Panic blends gorgeous pixel graphics with modern gameplay elements in frantic, piracy-filled matches. Two teams of up to six players must go all hands on deck and face off against each other, utilizing a variety of weapons, enchanted items, and power-ups. Matches begin as rival teams anchor their ships on opposite sides of the same island. Of course, the sea isn’t big enough for both teams, and neither are the islands; only one crew can claim victory by plundering enough gold into their treasure chest, scuttling the other crew's ship, or defeating the rival crew's captain. Teamwork makes the dream work, so crews must work together as a single hook-handed unit to win the day and get their hands on that sweet, sweet booty…or end up in Davy Jones’ locker.
Key Features of Plunder Panic:
- Pirate Brawlin’ — Fast-paced action–arcade gameplay with elements of platforming, combat, and strategic play.
- Multiplayer Madness — Supporting local and online cross-play. Form a crew of up to 6 pirates to compete against your frenemies. Play 1v1 all the way up to 6v6 (including AI). Assume the role as a captain or crewmate on your ship. Players can play local couch co-op, invite online friends to private lobbies and also go into matchmaking!
- Become a Pirate Legend — Multiple win conditions offer pirate crews different gameplay strategies. Teams can coordinate to either collect enough gold, sink an enemy ship with cannons or an explosive rowboat, or defeat the enemy captain. And Plunder Panic features several exciting game modes, including A Pirates Life, Conquest, and Reinforcements to build your pirate’s infamy.
- Modify-arrs — Matches can be customized with modifiers which change up the game rules dramatically. Randomized Captains per round? No captains at all? What about all pirates having a pair of never-ending Seagull Wings? Anything and everything can happen!
- Swords, Explosives, and… Squids? — Chaotic items that can be wielded by players can drop into a match at any time. From weapons such as the Blunderbuss, molotov cocktails, and dynamite to play enhancing items such as pirate punch and enchanted idols; even squids can be used as weapons to ink pirates (the Kraken doesn’t take kindly to this, though).
- A Visual Treasure — Pirates compete across a sea of treasure laden, visually spectacular islands. A charming pixel-art aesthetic makes the game fun and approachable for players of all ages.
- Addictive Beats — The exhilarating retro soundtrack evokes the days of yore, where the pop hits were all sea shanties!
Plunder Panic is now available for $19.99 USD on Windows PC/Mac, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Steam Deck — just in time for International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19. The PlayStation version of Plunder Panic for European territories will be released later this month, but is available now elsewhere.
“It has been a long journey getting Plunder Panic ready to ‘set sail,’ and we couldn’t be more proud of our game,” said Will Jeffery, Will Winn Games co-founder. “It’s thrilling to finally pull the trigger and invite players to experience something we’ve poured our hearts and souls into.”
“Watching Plunder Panic grow from a prototype initially developed by the extraordinary team of talented student employees from MSU’s Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab into a full-fledged commercial release with online multiplayer support and crossplay has been a dream come true,” said Brian Winn, Will Winn Games co-founder and MSU professor. “The Will Winn Games crew is extremely excited about what we have created and know that players from all the seven seas will have a blast playing Plunder Panic.”
To celebrate the launch of Plunder Panic, the Will Winn team is holding a launch party on Monday, September 19 (International Talk Like a Pirate Day) at the MSU Innovation Center in East Lansing, MI. Details and sign-up can be found here.
A press kit with screenshots, logo, and trailer is available here: https://uberstrategist.link/PlunderPanic-PressKit.
To learn more about Plunder Panic, visit plunderpanic.com to sign-up for the newsletter and join the game’s official Discord server. Fans can also follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Will Winn Games
Will Winn Games Inc. is an East Lansing-based game studio launched out of the top-ranked Michigan State University Game Development Program, Spartan Innovations, and Red Cedar Ventures. The mission of the company is to design, develop, and publish compelling multiplayer video game experiences. A prototype of the studio’s premier title Plunder Panic has already received multiple accolades including finalist in the SXSW 2018 Gaming Pitch Competition, Audience Choice Award winner at IndieCade 2017, and was an official selection of the Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX East 2018. Plunder Panic became the first licensed game out of Michigan State University in 2020. Over the last two years, Will Winn Games rebuilt the game from the ground up as a full online multiplayer game across all the major gaming platforms. In April 2022, Plunder Panic was a PAX Rising Showcase winner at PAX East 2022. Plunder Panic officially launches on Windows PC/Mac, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Steam Deck with full cross-platform play on September 16, 2022. For more information about Will Winn Games, please visit https://willwinn.games.
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