Pirates of the Burning Sea turned three years old on Jan. 22, and Flying Lab Software CEO Russell "Rusty" Williams decided to mark the occasion by looking at the past, present and future of the game. Williams explains that the game has been a part of his life for almost a decade and mentions the major changes that have been implemented over the years, including the move to free-to-play.

Flying Lab is celebrating the anniversary in-game with a special mission and two limited-edition pets: a black cockatoo and a monkey in a top hat (see above). The team is currently working on the next major patch, which will be a holiday update to celebrate Mardi Gras.

You can read Williams' entire letter after the jump. Happy anniversary, Pirates of the Burning Sea!

Since this is our third anniversary, I wanted to talk to you a little about where Pirates of the Burning Sea has been and where it’s going.

First of all, it’s been way more than three years! We have devlogs on our website going back to 2003, and we had started thinking about it long before that. When I think about it, PotBS has been a going concern of mine for almost a decade.

Since we launched, PotBS has gone through a lot of changes, none bigger than our move to Free to Play. You only need to look at the heavy loads on the login screens and the packed ports to see the effects. Not only have we revitalized the game, we’ve also made PotBS into one of the most user-friendly Free to Play games out there. We get a lot of praise for making a Free to Play game with high-end production values, both in terms of the level of quality and in terms of the merchandising. We feel good about where it is now and good about where it’s going to be in the future.

Our third anniversary patch was released this week, and brings with it some long-awaited things like the complete graphics overhaul of San Juan, as well as fun new things like monkeys in top hats (players do seem to love those monkeys!) San Juan has been completely overhauled by our artists to look as good as the rest of our ports and is now also little easier to navigate. Our artists have done a great job with it and we think you’ll love it.

To celebrate the anniversary, there’s a special mission for all captains involving a barrel race and a fancy soiree complete with party games. Complete this mission and you’ll get a very handsome commemorative coat. On the community side, we’ve added Community Spotlight recipients Ubert le Danois, Jon Smith-Tank, Bennet, and Paul Kingtiger in various locations throughout the game, so keep an eye out for them!

There are also some crash fixes, new pet emotes, a collection of improved particle and art effects, two special limited-edition anniversary pets (the previously mentioned monkey in a top hat and a black cockatoo), the Raven, Seagull, and Cockatiel pets, and a bunch of other fixes, tweaks, and features.

We’re now working on our next major patch, and it’s another holiday patch. While I’m not 100% sure, I can’t think of any game that’s done a Mardi Gras holiday in the past, and I don’t think you could ask for a more appropriate celebration for PotBS, so the good times will roll soon. We also plan to continue upgrading and supporting the game like we always have.

In closing, I want to express some appreciation, because it wouldn’t be possible without all of you. We have people—active, playing daily—that have been with us going back to the first beta of the game. So thank you for your time, energy, and feedback. We look forward to the next three (and ten+) years!

Russell “Rusty” Williams
CEO, Flying Lab Software