Ahoy!
Today's post is going to be a little different than our usual blog posts. This is journey that started 10 years ago today when the last ship set sail in Pirates of the Caribbean Online ("POTCO") on September 19th, 2013.
In Remembrance of POTCO
In the years leading up to Pirates Online's closure, there were many signs that the end was near for the game. But nevertheless, we held out hope and stuck together as a community. Through avenues like the Revive POTCO petition and various sailing blockades, we made our voices collectively heard and demanded for change and improvements.
Unfortunately, those calls for action went unanswered and Pirates Online officially closed its doors on September 19th, 2013. The Test Server closed one month prior, without any notice, on August 20th, 2013. In an instant, years of friendships and countless memories were gone forever... or so we thought.
The Emergence of TLOPO
Shortly after the closure of Pirates Online, a small group of dedicated players in the community gathered together around a crazy idea... could we somehow keep the game alive? We were fueled by a dream - a dream that often seemed too far-fetched and at times impossible. Even where there were looming shadows of doubt that we could actually pull this off, we never let our spirits and hope be deterred.
We do not have any of the game's original server source code and had to rewrite it from scratch. This has taken us the better half of the last decade to fully complete. We cannot describe how excited we are to finally be focusing full time on creating new content. For many years, we had to split our priorities between adding new content of our own with reimplementing existing features from the game that we had not yet added back.
In Celebration of Pirates Online
Today, Pirates Online lives on fully as The Legend of Pirates Online. A completely free and faithful recreation of the game; made by the community, for the community. We have added countless new features and improvements to the game, such as the annual Hollowed Woods event, which is available from NOW until November 15th.
In celebration of the Pirates Online game and its community, we have a special treat for all ye savvy swashbucklers who have stuck with us all these years! From now until September 21st, 2023 @ 12PM Eastern, players can redeem code "ANNIVERSARY2023" to receive an exclusive, limited-time Anniversary Bandana. But be warned, mate, this hat will only be available for 48 hours and will not be available again in the future - so make sure ye login and redeem it. Best keep it out of the dog's reach too... wouldn't want it to become a chew toy, savvy?
That's not all for our redeem code goodies, ye can redeem the code "GOODREADS" for the Frigate Chest Tattoo! Available until November 15th! That's not all for the anniversary event, too; if ye haven't already doubled yer luck with our recent double loot event, ye can TRIPLE it, matey! Triple Loot is active from NOW until September 21st @ 11:59PM Eastern.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank ye for coming along for the ride!
The Crew @ The Legend of Pirates Online