User blog comment:TheWarrior29/Should POTCO be considered canon?/@comment-1984959-20140303230427

There's two possible views to be made: POTCO canon and POTC non-canon. Whether POTCO is part of the films' universe is entirely one's opinion - no more, no less. Of course, it can be reasonable not to, given that the material revolves around a game (which tends to distance itself from film) and not to mention it being a game that is no longer active and is closed. But for the Wiki, the matter is disputed...no idea on what Disney thinks, though.

As for explanations, though one can accept them or not: The no-shooting-living-people rule.
 * Remember, not every pirate has to kill. Some pirates, like Jack and Gibbs say, "embrace that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions" which implies of course to run away. Of course, bear in mind, there may not be an in-universe reason...in reality, the game doesn't let you shoot people because of making the game more family friendly. Glad they had ship battles, though. lol

The fact that no one has mentioned Jolly Roger or his army.
 * Consider this like the majority of Clone Wars-related media, like why Asajj Ventress or Ahsoka Tano aren't mentioned in the films. Same thing can be said for POTCO. Odds are, not very many of what is introduced in the expanded universe will appear on screen...for now, anyway.

''How Jack became a pirate lord. It is nowhere mentioned you can be booted out. And with Sao Feng's line (The only reason i would want Jack Sparrow back from the land of the dead is so I COULD SEND HIM BACK MYSELF!!!!'") makes me wonder why they would think Jack would be a better choice.''
 * Film-wise, the Brethren Court really only appears in one film, where their history and some of their code of conduct is explained. Therefore, we don't know the exact circumstances in which Jack became a Pirate Lord, other than that (perhaps, according to POTCO lore) Captain Teague left the Court and gave his seat to his son, Jack Like many other POTC mysteries, that is a story yet to be told...officially, that is.

How the Queen Anne's Revenge is sunk in this but back from the depths in On Stranger Tides.
 * No logical (let alone official) in-universe explanation here, as ships sink as per the game's design. So any explanation is really based on one's opinion, nothing official. For instance, one could say that's part of an illusion-based magic making us believe the ship sinks, but the ship keeps coming back.

How Jack Sparrow takes over the Revenge in this but Blackbeard never mentions this.
 * Far as I'm aware, Jack never captures the Queen Anne's Revenge. Only Jolly Roger controlled the ship, and of course players of the game that battle the Revenge. Why Blackbeard never mentions this, there is no clear answer...as Blackbeard himself never appears in the game. It could also be a matter like the Clone Wars example I gave above.

Where was Blackbeard in the first place?
 * As with the above, there's no clear answer - very much so here than others. As far as I'm aware, Blackbeard's only mentioned in the POTCO lore behind the Revenge and the Sword of Triton. Not really a matter that would be delved into film...again, for now.

Bear in mind, this is a game and it's suppose to be just that - a game. While it would be nice to have most of the story-related stuff explained, POTCO's focus was to be a great online game, and its story stuff should only pertain to what is played for or against.

That being said, I'm neutral. One is more than welcome to expand the POTC world with whatever is revealed in media. However, I feel I shouldn't be naive into not taking the possibility of some POTCO stuff being non-canon seriously. For now, I can only say the matter is disputed, no more no less.