Ubisoft and Microsoft today announced a partnership that brings a free demo for mobile game Assassin's Creed: Pirates to your browser. Microsoft wants you to play the game through Internet Explorer, but it also works in other browsers, including Google Chrome.

If you're playing on a touch-enabled device, you can unfurl your ship's sails or steer your vessel through the ocean by swiping your finger. On Windows devices, Assassin's Creed Pirates also supports split-screen browsing, allowing you to perform another function, like Skype, while also playing the game.

Ubisoft studio manager François Bodson said in a statement that though the future for web-based gaming is unclear, he's excited about the potential that Internet Explorer and development framework Babylon.JS provide.

"We wanted to see if a game like this could be possible on the web. It's difficult to really know where web-gaming is headed, but we can be sure that Babylon.JS and Internet Explorer today, in terms of gaming, are great platforms to demonstrate its potential."

Assassin's Creed: Pirates was released last fall as a spin-off for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The game is available today for iOS and Android devices for $5.