Sea of Thieves News

Here we are again, approaching that most important day of the year for pirate enthusiasts worldwide! With Sea of Thieves recently passing 15 million players, we’ve got a lot of pirates to cater to, from grizzled veterans to fresh-faced rookies and every kind of adventurer in between. So this year we’ve gone all out with different ways to celebrate talking, playing, flaunting and fighting like a pirate!

On Talk Like a Pirate Day itself, all our players will be able to scoop double the usual gold and reputation gains when handing in treasure thanks to the latest Sea of Thieves Gold & Glory Weekend, running from September 18-21. Haven’t actually got the game yet? Grab it at a discount in the sale that runs September 17-21 on Steam. There's no better time to invite your friends to the Sea of Thieves!



If you’re a relative newcomer to the seas, we’ve got you covered this year. Not only do we have a refreshed version of our Everything You Need To Know About Sea of Thieves video coming up on our YouTube channel before the big day, we’re also polishing the first batch of explanatory articles for our new Pirate Academy, where Sea of Thieves characters break down the basics and offer their wisdom on how to set yourself up for a long and successful seafaring life. Look out for those on the Sea of Thieves website soon. In the meantime, if you’ve yet to pick a Trading Company to align with for your early Voyages, we’ve put together a Pirate Personality Quiz to help you find out where your priorities match up!



Already fully invested and out there on the seas seeking treasure? In addition to Gold & Glory Weekend there’ll be a new round of Twitch Drops, this time offering an opportunity to pick up the Ancestral Ship Set inspired by Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Kicking off on Talk Like a Pirate Day, this runs from September 19-24 and offers different ship parts each day just for spending some time watching Sea of Thieves Partnered streamers. Meanwhile, any players who’ve been enjoying the ever-growing soundtrack selection available on streaming and download services will be pleased to hear that Becalmed – Seafarer’s Song, a new vocal version of that much-loved ocean melody, will join the tracklist on September 18.



So yes, there’s a lot going on around Talk Like a Pirate Day this year! Join our crew on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more pirate fun and games, and however you celebrate, make sure you celebrate with Sea of Thieves!

For more information on the latest free content update, Vaults of the Ancients, visit the Sea of Thieves website. The update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game on Xbox One, on Windows 10 PC or via Steam. Simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to get access.

New to Sea of Thieves? Join the fun with our Maiden Voyage, a narrative-driven tutorial experience. New players will begin their travels within this scenario, which provides guidance and information to fledgling sailors. Learn more about Sea of Thieves at www.xbox.com/seaofthieves, or join the ongoing adventure at www.seaofthieves.com where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

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It’s time for the focus to swing back to Sea of Thieves’ original Trading Company, the Gold Hoarders, in the latest free update available today to all Sea of Thieves players across Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, and Steam. Vaults of the Ancients brings in a new Voyage type as players are tasked with tracking down well-hidden keys to the Gold Hoarders’ top secret Treasure Vaults – but will these Vault Keys be safely returned, or will pirates do what they do best and claim the gold as their own?

[h2]Vault-Finding Missions[/h2]

The perilous Puzzle Vaults built in a bygone age have more recently been repurposed by the Gold Hoarders, turned into Treasure Vaults for their ever-expanding wealth. But Captain Flameheart’s continued rise to power threatens the security of these safehouses, and the Hoarders need to reclaim the keys they once went to great lengths to hide.



Take on a Treasure Vault Voyage from the Gold Hoarders’ representative at your nearest Outpost, and you’ll be given a Golden Wayfinder compass – this will help you find the pieces of the map to the hidden Vault Key. Once you have the key, the choice is yours: do you deliver it into the hands of the Gold Hoarders and claim your reward? Or risk using it to unlock the Treasure Vault, where you have a chance to gather up even greater riches and escape before the built-in traps take you out?

If you haven’t reached a high enough rank to be trusted by the Gold Hoarders but think you’re up to tackling a Treasure Vault regardless, speak to new arrival Larinna at the tavern where she’s taking over from Duke as the public face of the Bilge Rats.

[h2]Canine Out of Ten[/h2]



The Pirate Emporium is a whirl of activity this month as three different breeds of dog come bounding in, all looking for new pirate owners! Pick up an Alsatian, a Whippet or an Inu with a coat pattern of your choice, and keep this honorary crew member at your side as you set sail for adventure. The dogs of the Sea of Thieves are mostly ship-trained, but as your deck’s constantly getting washed clean by rain and seawater anyway, don’t worry about it too much. If you’re one of those pirates who likes everything to be co-ordinated, you can even kit out your new canine sidekick in a suitable seafaring outfit!



Also new to the Emporium is a fearsome ship livery for anyone who missed the chance to start collecting it in our recent Hunters of the Deep event: the Shrouded Ghost Hunter Ship Set! Prove to all others on the ocean that you will not rest until you’ve clashed with this fabled beast and lived to tell the tale.

[h2]Find Out More[/h2]

For more information on the Vaults of the Ancients update, including full release notes, visit the Sea of Thieves website. The update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game on Steam, simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to get access.

New to Sea of Thieves? Join the fun with our Maiden Voyage, a narrative-driven tutorial experience. New players will begin their travels within this scenario, which provides guidance and information to fledgling sailors. Learn more about Sea of Thieves at www.xbox.com/seaofthieves, or join the ongoing adventure at www.seaofthieves.com where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

[h2]Sun, Sand and Sea of Thieves
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For those of you who were planning to get away for the summer, but had your plans scuppered by our collective situation – don’t worry, there’s a whole other world for you to explore from the safety of your sofa! If you’re stuck on land with nowhere to go, the ‘Summer of Sea of Thieves’ event kicks off today, inviting you to dive in and take a challenge-driven tour of our beautiful ocean regions.

From meeting the local pirate populace to attempting explosive aerobatics, this event serves up 10 challenge sets, each containing four goals, plus one more for Pirate Legends with some special tasks to tackle! You’ll have until the event ends on September 30 to pick and choose which of the wildly varied goals you want to complete, based on your play style and the rewards on offer.

There are glittering piles of gold and Doubloons up for grabs, plus rare cosmetics and player Titles – including a highly prized ‘Legend of the Sun’ Title to be bagged by those heroes who fully commit to this event’s adventurous antics and risky requests.

To find out more about the ‘Summer of Sea of Thieves’ in-game event, watch our handy video then head to the Events Hub to check out the challenges!

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[h2]Turn Your Garden into a Galleon[/h2]

It’s not just your in-game summer experience that we’re aiming to improve: thanks to a new summer-themed set of merchandise soon to land in the official Sea of Thieves store, you’ll be able to enjoy the sunshine in true pirate fashion. Deckchairs and towels will be on offer for those of you who want to sunbathe in style, and you’ll even be able to keep hydrated with your very own Sea of Thieves water bottle.

Head to the Sea of Thieves store later to this month to pick up the first of your pirate poolside accessories, and make sure you’re quick about it! Wouldn’t want things to get salty if you miss out…



[h2]Find Out More[/h2]

For more information on the ‘Summer of Sea of Thieves’ event, including the full roster of challenges, please visit the Events Hub on the Sea of Thieves website. The event is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game on Xbox One, on Windows 10 PC or via Steam, or players who have access to it with Xbox Game Pass. Simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to take part.

New to Sea of Thieves? Join the fun with our Maiden Voyage, a narrative-driven tutorial experience. New players will begin their travels within this scenario, which provides guidance and information to fledgling sailors. Learn more about Sea of Thieves at www.xbox.com/seaofthieves, or join the ongoing adventure at www.seaofthieves.com where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!

Hi everyone, I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. I wanted to share an update on Sea of Thieves plans as we head towards our next update, coming August 19th.

As we came off the back of our July release, we had an opportunity to assess our planned set of features for August – and it quickly became apparent that everything was coming in a little hot.

Since we started working from home, we’ve definitely had to be a bit more flexible with our plans for each month, and as such we’ve decided to move our key planned features back to our September release.

Because of this, tomorrow’s update focuses on a range of bug fixes and quality of life improvements while rolling out a series of live events to mark the Summer of Sea of Thieves. There will not be a Pirate Emporium refresh as part of this update.

Keep your eyes on our Sea of Thieves channels to learn more about the live events on their way, and remember you can always check the Sea of Thieves Events Hub for the latest live events and Daily Bounties to tackle.

Thanks to everyone for their understanding and ongoing support as we continue to work through this unique situation. We have seen so many players, both new and old, head to the Sea of Thieves over the summer, and we continue to love hearing about all your stories and adventures.

As always, see you on the seas!

- Joe “Three Sheets” Neate

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This month’s Sea of Thieves content is being served up hot – literally! Captain Flameheart’s manipulation of Stitcher Jim, Duke and countless other pirates on the seas has finally granted him the knowledge and resources he needs to transform some of his most trusted underlings into Ashen Lords. This July, pirates are tasked with taking down a fearsome foursome in Sea of Thieves’ latest monthly update Ashen Winds, available today for all Sea of Thieves players across Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Steam and with Xbox Game Pass.

[h2]Lording It Up[/h2]



July’s update centers on the rise of the Ashen Lords: four of Flameheart’s followers boosted by the blistering energy of the Ashen Curse, leaving them capable of causing huge destruction. These powerful skeletal foes have emerged across the Sea of Thieves and will strike back with fire, ash and flaming rocks at any pirates who dare to challenge them. The Ashen Lords have distinct personalities and different abilities to anything else seen on the seas, so seafarers must stay sharp at all times to ensure their defeat.

These emergent enemies will appear on islands indicated on the horizon by a raging tornado cloud, and will remain on the Sea of Thieves as a permanent threat to pirates. The Ashen Lords’ fires are far from burning out, and their hot-headed ways are set to rain fiery terror down on players for months to come!

[h2]All the Hot Gossip[/h2]



In combat, an Ashen Lord can spit flame at its opponents – but even after defeat, it’s rumoured that the Ashen Winds Skull left behind is potent enough to use as a deadly weapon. Take the cursed cranium and aim it at your enemies to use its fire for your own purposes, but be warned: constant use will drain its power, and reduce its substantial value to the Order of Souls. So if it’s the gold and reputation you’re after, a little restraint will go a long way. If not… fire at will!

[h2]Accessibility Additions[/h2]

In a continued push to open the seas to everyone, more accessibility options are being added to Sea of Thieves this month. The most notable is support for play with a single analog stick, where players can opt to, well, play with just a single analog stick. All ship, pirate and menu controls are moved to your stick of choice, allowing anyone not comfortable with a traditional controller to reduce the number of held inputs required to set sail.

In addition there’s a new auto-centering camera option that ensures it always tends towards the horizon, and an auto-float mode to keep pirates with a dislike of the watery depths bobbing on the surface in a virtual lifejacket. With the number of options in the menu, there’s also a handy button to reset all accessibility options to their default state.

[h2]Pirate Emporium Scorchers[/h2]

Ashen Curse pets are sizzling onto the scene with July’s update, and these charmingly charred critters are joined in the Emporium by new roleplay emotes for your pirates, based on the mannerisms of some of your favorite Sea of Thieves characters. If you’ve ever wanted to prop up the bar just like Duke or delve deeper into roleplaying as a Trading Company Emissary, you’re in luck.



Meanwhile, if you’ve been hankering to dress your four-legged friend in something that reminds you of your many-tentacled enemies, look no further: Kraken cat outfits have reached the Emporium, so your cute kitty can trot about in a dapper new outfit inspired by a terrible behemoth!

There’s also a sale coming to the ship livery aisle of the Pirate Emporium, with a range of Rare-inspired ship bundles (paying tribute to games as diverse as Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata and Perfect Dark) getting a sweet 35% discount to mark Rare’s 35th anniversary. Check out the Pirate Emporium page for all your window shopping needs.

[h2]Find Out More[/h2]

For more information on the Ashen Winds update, including full release notes, visit the Sea of Thieves website. The update is available for free to all Sea of Thieves players who have bought the game on Xbox One, on Windows 10 PC or via Steam, or players who have access to it with Xbox Game Pass. Simply download and install the latest Sea of Thieves update to get access.

New to Sea of Thieves? Join the fun with our Maiden Voyage, a narrative-driven tutorial experience separate from Adventure and Arena modes. New Sea of Thieves players will begin their travels within this scenario, which provides guidance and information to fledgling sailors. Learn more about Sea of Thieves at www.xbox.com/seaofthieves, or join the ongoing adventure at www.seaofthieves.com where you can embark on an epic journey with one of gaming’s most welcoming communities!