Forward Gateway & Crosswind Crew Talk Crosswind – Interview Series

Forward Gateway and Crosswind Crew have buddied up to announce their joint venture, Crosswind, a formulaic survival-based free-to-play MMO for PC. Like the traditional “build, craft, survive”  prototypes that have come before it, the game will reportedly revolve around the Age of Piracy; specifically, in the “middle of a conflict between empires, pirate clans and mysterious dark powers [that] loom on the horizon.” According to the team behind it, Crosswind will also feature a plethora of ever-evolving updates and seasonal activities, as well as a shifting conveyor belt of “challenging boss fights, sea battles, and diverse player-versus-player environments.”

“Massively multiplayer online features will add countless hours of fun on top of the core story,” Forward Gateway writes. “Play solo or cooperatively, dive deep into faction rivalry, take a challenge of endgame player-versus-enemy and player-versus-player activities. Trade, raid, and engage in power play to build your own pirate empire. Crosswind is a boundless journey with constant updates and new content available after release.”

Curious to learn more about this journey, I sought the opportunity to talk with the team at Forward Gateway to learn more about it.

Ahoy there, Crosswind Crew! We’re excited to jump straight into the deep end with your upcoming MMO, Crosswind. Before we walk that plank (sorry) though, would you mind introducing yourself to our readers and telling us a bit more about the studio’s origin story?

Crosswind is brought to life by a passionate distributed crew of developers—quite fitting for a pirate adventure, right? We’re a tight-knit team of about 50+ talented folks, many with substantial experience in game development, supported by some external collaborators. Right now we’re focused on our upcoming Alpha test, which, to be fair, has gained much more attention than we ever hoped: in the first week of our Steam presence, we’ve got over 60,000 wishlists and over 70,000 playtest signups. The numbers keep stacking, and we’re already on the 166th position in top wishlisted games after a month. It’s a big responsibility, and when we finally launch the Alpha, we plan to work on a proper introduction of the team behind the game. Stay tuned!

From what we’ve gathered, Crosswind will feature a whirlwind tale of naval adventures, warring hierarchies, and swashbuckling pirate conquests. Tell us, what fueled this desire to plunge deep into the Age of Piracy?

We felt the world could use more great pirate games—there’s just something irresistibly adventurous and romantic about that setting. Moreover, survival gameplay mixed with such “pirate” elements as naval combat and boarding actions felt like a very interesting blend! Finally, lore-wise, the Age of Piracy is such a vibrant era, brimming with fascinating historical events, charismatic figures, and endless opportunities for storytelling. These factors combined helped us to make the call.

We’re excited to see where we fit into this nautical world of piracy and oceanic expeditions. Spoilers cast aside, what’s the story here, and who is it that we’re filling the boots of?

Your journey begins as a sailor entrusted with a seemingly simple and totally-not-suspicious task: deliver a mysterious package to a distant city across treacherous seas. Its contents are unknown, and you find yourself indifferent—after all, it’s just another job. However, everything changes when your ship falls prey to ruthless pirates, who seize your cargo and leave you adrift in stormy waters.

Soon after, it becomes clear this package was no ordinary shipment, but a piece of an ancient artifact capable of reshaping the world’s very fate. Pulled into a grand adventure, you’ll brave countless dangers, forge uneasy alliances, unravel dark secrets, and ultimately face a threat larger than you ever imagined.

We feel it’s a good place for a disclaimer: we’re only approaching our first public Alpha test. A lot of things are in development, nothing is final, and the game will evolve as we both incorporate community feedback and bring in more features from our “final” game vision.

Let’s talk a bit more about the voyage; specifically, the tidal wave of challenges that we will have to overcome en route to the final frontier of the piracy-addled world. What sorts of trials can we expect to find during this campaign across sand, sea, and sky?

Aye, there’s no shortage of trials in Crosswind!

Ancient ruins, bandit-infested camps, dungeons filled with traps, secrets, and puzzles—there is much to explore in the world! At sea, tense ship-to-ship combat and boarding encounters will test your nerve.

On land, you’ll square off against a wide range of formidable foes and several challenging bosses. Exploration is seamless between land and sea—you can sail up to a hidden shore, leap off your ship, and immediately dive into the unknown without a single loading screen.

But not everything is about blades and cannon fire. Peaceful activities like gathering, crafting, building are essential to character progression. 

Talking about our “core” progression, it is inspired by the best survival games: you explore a new biome, uncover its secrets, master its challenges and defeat its boss, “unlocking” the next biome.

You’ve labeled Crosswind as an MMO. Please could you tell us more about this multiplayer aspect, as well as how a wider community will benefit the growth of the game?

When we describe Crosswind as an MMO, we’re not talking about hundreds of players in one activity. We’re aiming towards an “MMO-lite” experience, rather than classic old-school MMO. 

At its heart, Crosswind is a survival game built around co-op PvE: you (and your friends, if you’d like some company) explore, build, and progress through adventures at your own pace in your own world. That more or less reflects the scope of the Alpha test we’re preparing now. 

The MMO elements that we will be introducing later, will emerge through shared zones and evolving global systems — like Tortuga (our social hub), optional PvP regions, world events and endgame activities. This part of the game is in early development now, and we’re excited to see how it evolves once we’re ready to test it with the community.

Community is a huge part of what we’re building. Live games thrive when players are involved, which is why playtesting, feedback surveys, and content creator involvement are all essential to our approach.

Conquering both the high tides and the vigorous environmental activities sounds like a bit of a stiff breeze, that’s for sure. Do you have any useful words of advice for those who might be looking to get behind the wheel and don the cutlass in the future?

Whether you’re a seasoned survival expert, a PvP swashbuckler, or someone who just loves a good pirate tale, there will be a place for you in Crosswind. We’re designing the experience with a wide range of players in mind—not just die-hard fans of the genre, but also those who enjoy relaxed co-op, immersive exploration, or a bit of storytelling on the high seas.

You might come for the setting, the base-building, or the mystery tucked between island ruins. You might stay for the naval combat, the boss battles, or the crew you gather along the way. And that’s exactly what we’re aiming for—a game that offers multiple ways to engage, at your own pace.

So our advice? Stay tuned, because we have a long journey ahead. And if you get to the first Alpha, remember: that’s just the beginning. We have at least 1,5 years of development planned to approach the “release” state of the game.

Would you mind tiding us over with a rough estimate of when the next update is likely to reach the shoreline? Do you have any plans to further unveil Crosswind in the near future, or is it a little too early to say?

Our next big milestone is the very first public Alpha test—it’ll be the first non-NDA chance for players to get their hands on Crosswind and experience the world firsthand. We’re working on the Alpha build now, and hopefully will be able to launch the test in May.

Beyond that, we’re charting a course toward a few more playtests, fresh content showcases, and deeper looks into the systems that make Crosswind what it is. 

Please could you point us in the right direction of any notable social network handles, newsletters, or event details? We wouldn’t want to miss out on any important updates or pre-launch news.

We’d love to have you aboard! The best way to stay in the loop is to wishlist and follow us on Steam — that’s our main harbor for updates, announcements, and of course, upcoming playtest access.

Beyond Steam, you can also find us charting our course across:

• Reddit for open discussions and dev posts
• YouTube for previews, trailers, and behind-the-scenes looks
• Discord for real-time updates and community chats
• X for news drops and sea-worthy memes

You can also find all the links on Steam or on playcrosswind.com.

You’ve been an enormous help — thank you. Oh, and best of luck with the rest of your voyage!

You can find even more information on Crosswind Crew’s Crosswind by adding the game to your wishlist on Steam here.