Piroker: Where Poker Meets Pirates, Relics and a Whole Lot of Chaos
PAX West 2026, Seattle.
I admit, I am not really into poker. There is nothing inherently wrong with it, Just never really took the effort to learn. I know a little bit of black jack, played card games like spades and hearts, but never got into poker much. Still, the PAX Booth of Piroker was alluring and pulled me in to learn more.
Piroler is a colourful, pirate-themed strategy game that takes some of the more familiar poker hands, mixes them with a bit of random luck and turns them into the foundation for a surprisingly fun gameplay mechanic.
We met up with the team to learn more, and get some hands on to see what the game was all about. Then we sat down with David Pan from HABBY.FUN to tell us all about the game, its familiar foundations of poker and how they mixed them with relics, character builds, roguelike strategy, multiplayer competition and a healthy dose of pirate chaos.
So, What Exactly Is Piroker?
David describes Piroker as a twist on poker and deck building, with some auto-battler elements thrown into the mix. The basic idea is that up to eight players are working from the same community poker cards, but each player is building their own strategy around those cards using items called "relics" which provided certain bonuses and change the way the cards are scored.
That shared-card approach is where Piroker starts to get clever. Imagine that everyone at the table has access to the same pair or flush, but one player has built an engine of relics around maximizing pairs while another person has created a strategy based around flushes. Someone else might be building toward a completely different combination that has not even become obvious yet at this point in the game. The cards may be shared, but each strategy reveals a different approach to the game. which one is going to work depends on what cards are up next.
Poker You Can Actually Build Around
One of the things I liked about the explanation is that Piroker isn't simply asking players to get better at poker. Yes it contains familiar poker hands, but those are really the foundation for something much larger and within a few rounds, even the most novice player can at least create some powerful combos.
A game of Piroker consist out of multiple rounds, each divided in 5 turns. Seven cards are laid out face down on the game table. In the first turn 3 cards are revealed, and another one each turn after that. After each card reveal each player get presented with random relic , they pick one to aid their scoring. Over time there are ways to influence the RNG of the game to find relics that fit with your strategy for that game. The character you choose also has a "power" , so pay attention that you play in a way the compliments that character as well as what the game gives you that round. After each scoring phase the "losers" of that turn will receive damage. Once they hit 0 they are out of the game. This continues until 1 player remains. You do not have to be 1st place, ending in the top list will earn you shells ( the in-game currency) either way.
As for what relics to choose, you might find something that makes forming a particular hand easier, or something that gives you a bonus when you build around a specific strategy. There is still some luck involved because you don't necessarily know exactly what choices will appear, but talking to David, he emphasized that the deeper strategy comes from learning how the different relics interact.
That means there is a very natural learning curve. At first, the obvious choices are probably going to be the ones that make immediate sense. Why wouldn't you grab something that makes a flush or straight easier to build? Or something that gives you a lot of point right now. As you spend more time with the game, however, the developers expect players to experiment with combinations and discover more complicated strategies, playing the long game.
That is also why David compared the game's potential appeal to fans of auto-chess style games. You don't necessarily need to be a poker expert to understand what is happening, but players who enjoy experimenting with builds and figuring out how different effects work together have plenty of room to dig deeper.
You Don't Have to Be a Poker Shark
If the word "poker" immediately makes you think that Piroker isn't for you, don't worry. I asked David directly whether someone who isn't familiar with poker would struggle to get into the game.
His answer was basically no.
The fundamentals are limited to things such as pairs, triples and high cards, and those concepts are introduced quickly through the tutorial. The more complicated part isn't learning traditional poker rules. It is more about learning what you can do with the relic system to score of those cards.
That distinction makes Piroker an interesting gateway for players, like me, who have never really spent much time with poker. You're not sitting down at a table trying to bluff some card sharks over a huge pot. You're learning how familiar card combinations can become part of a larger strategy game.
Eight Players and a Lot of Potential for Chaos
David explained that the game is built around multiplayer lobbies, including the ability to create custom games with friends. If you have a group looking for something to play together, you can create a lobby and bring everyone into the same match. Players who would rather jump into a PvP game on their own can also be matched with other players.
Currently there is also a single-player mode, although David was very open about the fact that it was still relatively barebones during the PAX demonstration. The developers are looking at player feedback to determine how much further that mode should be developed.
That openness to feedback came up several times during our conversation, and it makes sense considering where Piroker currently sits in development. The game is already playable through its Steam demo and playtest, while the Steam listing currently gives no announced release date.
A PC Game First
Piroker represents a new direction for the team at HABBY.FUN. David explained that the company is a spinoff of the large mobile publisher HABBY, and Piroker is its first PC title. The goal is very deliberately PC-first, with the developers wanting to make sure the game is in the right place before expanding to additional platforms.
That doesn't mean the team isn't thinking beyond PC. David mentioned that console platforms could be explored depending on how the game is received, and he specifically noted that players at PAX were already asking about additional platforms, including Nintendo Switch. For now, though, PC is the focus.
More Than 100 Relics and Some Very Strange Builds
As is often the case with these type of games , Piroker gets particularly dangerous for anyone who enjoys "just one more game." and then forgets the time until the sunrise creeps in through the window blinds. David told me that the game currently has more than 100 relics, and that the real fun begins when players stop taking the obvious choices and start experimenting. The game is thousands of combinations to play with, but also holds secret combo bonuses. He gave us an example involving a collection of relics with names connected to Neptune. Finding individual pieces is one thing, but collecting all five can trigger a special combination that transforms your hero and unlocks a special power. And yes, that secret is already present in the playable demo.
The Pirates Are Here Because They're Fun
Of course, there is still the question I had to ask. Why pirates?
David's answer was simple. When the team originally came up with the concept, the publisher apparently asked the same question. They had assumed a PC game meant they were going to have some grim dark fantasy theming , instead the answer was essentially that pirates were fun, and the reaction from players at PAX seemed to confirm that the choice was working. Sometimes that's all the explanation you need.
The pirate theme also gives Piroker a lot of fun personality. Instead of trying to make a poker strategy game feel overly serious, the colourful characters, ships and treasure give the whole thing a playful identity.
As for the art style, the colorful characters and exaggerated presentation are very intentional and all done in house by the dev team.
David said the team had been getting strong reactions from people at PAX, and the developers' broader goal is to make their games accessible to a wide audience rather than locking them into a particular art style that might turn people away.
Piroker looks like it wants you to have fun rather than take yourself too seriously.
The Little Details Matter
Even on a loud PAX show floor, some details managed to stand out. We did not put any headsets on , but still I could distinguish the satisfying sounds of shuffling cards and the clinking of coins on the table. It gave a surprising tactile feel to the game.
David explained that the music, some delightful Bossa Nova throwback, is currently being created by an outside team that the company has worked with before.
A Game Built Around Experimentation
The current Steam listing expands on that idea with pirate heroes, 100-plus treasure skills, 40-plus exotic fish and a variety of PvP formats, including real-time private matches and asynchronous competition. That is a lot more going on than the first five seconds of watching the game might suggest.
The best part of our conversation was that there isn't much need to simply take the developers' word for it.
Piroker already has a free playable demo/playtest, and David encouraged players to download it, play with friends and provide feedback. He also pointed players toward the game's community channels, emphasizing that both positive and negative feedback can help the team improve the game.
The current Steam page still lists the full release date as to be announced, so there isn't a firm launch date to report yet.
Final Thoughts
Piroker was one of those games that caught my attention because it inviting and fun. Once I started to get more hands on at home, it kept revealing that it wasn't quite what I thought it was. It's strategy runs pretty deep, the RNG give plenty chances to all players to make it deep into the run and it really sucks you in to play game after game.
For me, the biggest question isn't whether Piroker is "really" a poker game or an auto battler. It is whether that combination gives players enough possibilities to keep coming back and trying something new. Based on what I saw at PAX West, and playing the demo, it certainly seems that HABBY.FUN has some treasure on their hands.
You can watch the whole interview with David on our YouTube page.
