The Pirate Queen Dev Explains How Cheng Shih Sets Up More Female Pirate Stories

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend is a narrative-driven VR game that tells the true story of a woman named Cheng Shih, one of the most powerful and influential pirates of all time whose story has become almost forgotten. The Pirate Queen transports players to the night that Cheng Shih became the leader of the infamous Red Flag Fleet, challenging players to see if they also have what it takes. Interestingly, many people today might not know about Cheng Shih’s rags-to-riches story and its significance at the time when compared to popular pirates like Blackbeard. Yet, that’s precisely why Singer Studios wanted to tell Cheng Shih’s story and raise awareness of her success. This is especially true for Singer Studios as a female-led studio that seeks to champion gender equality and female-led narratives.

It’s also only the beginning for The Pirate Queen as a franchise that’s expanding with a graphic novel, TV series, podcast, and a movie to follow. In an interview with Game Rant, creative director and CEO Eloise Singer explained how Cheng Shih’s story also sets the stage for more female pirate stories and voices to follow. Singer also discussed the importance of Cheng Shih’s story and why the studio set the game on the night of her rise to power.

The Importance of Cheng Shih’s Story and Setting in The Pirate Queen

When asked about why it was important for the studio to tell Cheng Shih’s story and its significance today, Singer spoke about bringing to light forgotten female narratives lost throughout history, such as nearly forgotten pirates like Cheng Shih:

When I first heard the story, I just fundamentally believed that everyone needed to know that the most powerful pirate in history was a woman. It’s one of those we joke about a lot where ‘his story,’ literally history is ‘his story.’ There are so many cases of narratives about women and stories about women that have been just wiped from history.

Singer also explained that The Pirate Queen enables more people to learn about Cheng Shih’s story and success, especially in a landscape where people often think of all pirates as men. It’s easy for many pirate fans to name someone like Blackbeard, Calico Jack, or even fictional characters like Captain Jack Sparrow, but many would be hard-pressed to name a pirate woman, fictional or otherwise. This story is a true story and thus shines a light on an important historical figure that, as Singer describes, is practically wiped from history. Of course, Cheng Shih had an entire life that Singer Studios could have put under a microscope, but her rise to power seems like a strong pick.

While the decision to set the game on the night of Cheng Shih’s ascension was spearheaded by writer Maja Bodenstein, it also ensured the stakes remained high for players and highlights a pivotal moment in her story. Additionally, this choice enables Singer Studios to continue Cheng Shih’s story and grow into a franchise with big plans ahead.

How The Pirate Queen Sets The Stage For More Female Pirate Stories

While The Pirate Queen gives Cheng Shih’s story a voice in history, it’s allowing Singer Studios to add more female voices and tell their stories through the franchise too. As Singer revealed, the studio is also telling the stories of other female pirate leaders:

The Pirate Queen
is just the beginning of a massive IP and a massive story world that we’re creating. We’re telling
The Pirate Queen
not just as a game, but also as a film, a TV series, and a podcast. With that, is the notion that she wasn’t just the only female pirate leader in history. There are actually about 17 who are really incredible, very recognizable women who made a huge impact on history as pirates. The plan is that we’re telling those stories as well, which is really exciting.

This could be truly remarkable for the representation of female narratives in history and shows how The Pirate Queen is much more than just a video game. Singer is also excited to have award-winning actor Lucy Liu involved in the growing franchise, who is an executive producer and also the voice actor for Cheng Shih in The Pirate Queen.

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend releases on March 7, 2024, for Steam and Meta Quest.

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