The 1st privateer was a DOS game, the 2nd one was a Windows 95 game, and the third and final one was called Freelancer, which was released for windows XP. The 1st one is still my favorite. It’s available on GOG for $5.99
Privateer was sort of a sandbox pirate/shipping/space shooter rpg thingy. Basically the game dropped you off in a universe full of issues then let you go about it however you wanted, while letting you up grade your ship and follow a main story. It was awesome and yet to be redone well.
Truth be told, I thought of trying one myself but with the addition of FPS sections for storming ships and ground level missions.