Tri Synergy has announced that it will publish Port Royale, a multiplayer-focused real-time strategy game that challenges players to vie for supremacy in an exacting simulation of the Caribbean during the 16th and 17th centuries. As pirate or trader, players choose to side with England, France, Spain, or Holland. Pirates can plunder and seize enemies' ships and villages, while traders will establish their reputation and power by building plantations, plying trade routes, and amassing a formidable fleet to strike at the buccaneers. Naval combat is a central part of Port Royale, and the tactical mode plays out in full 3D.
Port Royale is designed to be played on a LAN or over the Internet by up to eight players, and it also has an offline tutorial mode. The game is in development at Germany-based Ascaron and is scheduled to ship in Q2 2003.