Sea of Thieves News

Hello, pirates. As some of you may have seen, we released a video today detailing some of the changes we’ve had to make to our upcoming release roadmap. Unfortunately, this includes the difficult decision to push back the launch of Season Ten to Thursday, 19th October 2023.

It’s not a decision we’ve taken lightly, and we share your disappointment that it’s something we’ve needed to do. However, after careful consideration, we firmly believe that it’s the best thing to do for the quality of the release, the sustainability of our development process and the wellbeing of our team.

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Those of you who caught the recent episode of our podcast will have heard us discussing the challenges of implementing new systems into a game like Sea of Thieves. These types of foundational releases are challenging to make, as we have to ensure they interact with all the existing systems in the game.

One such challenge has been the Season Ten headline feature, which we’ve already talked about as something that we’ve found tougher than anticipated to pull together – especially to the quality bar we’re striving to meet.

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[h3]The Impact on Season Nine[/h3]
We recognise that it’s not just the delay of new content that’s frustrating, but the impact on Season Nine’s length too. It was never our intention to have it last this long, and we understand that many of our players will have already hit Renown level 100 and feel like they’ve explored everything there is to see and do with the features introduced in Season Nine.

We know you’ve come to expect a consistent rhythm of how and when we deliver new gameplay experiences, and Season Ten’s delay means that we’ll be asking you to wait a little while longer to get your hands on a big, brand new feature. However, there’s still a whole lot happening outside the Seasonal rhythm – so we’re hopeful that even without a new Season next month, you’ll still have lots to do.

[h3]The Next Few Months[/h3]
For those of you who missed the news, a trio of Tall Tales for Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island will be released over the course of July, August and September – with the first of these new Tales, ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’, available to dive into right now.

August and September also have a solid line-up of shenanigans, with a Gold & Glory Weekend kicking things off from August 4th-7th. Legends Week will then be returning after its inaugural event last year, with new things to do and earn for both Legends and Legends-to-be. A special Community Weekend with an exciting new flavour is scheduled for September too. We’ll be sharing more about these events in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned for details on what they all entail.


[h3]Season Ten and Beyond[/h3]
Even though moving Season Ten back wasn’t something we were eager to do, the shuffle has opened up an opportunity: it’s meant that we’ve been able to take what was originally targeted as the next Season’s headline content and make it part of Season Ten. The current plan is for this to launch in the second month of Season Ten, which would mean players getting two headliner features in as many months.

So we’re hopeful that while things may feel a little slow at the moment, we’ll be barrelling into the last few months of the year with lots of momentum, giving players the sense of a world re-energised by a packed Season Ten schedule including multiple feature releases, events and experiences.

[h3]Your Community Feedback[/h3]
It’s important for us to stress that we listen to everything you say, and we really do value your feedback. We’re always listening to what our players want, and even if we can’t act on things immediately – game development does take time – there are some really exciting elements to our upcoming roadmap that hit on things that you’ve all been asking for, in some cases for a long while.


When it comes to feedback on hot topics like cheating, hit registration and combat, we also want to reassure you that we’re working hard behind the scenes in those areas. When we have more info to share on these, we will – but we currently have teams dedicated to revisiting and improving these core experiences for our players. Insiders will have recently seen and experienced some of the planned changes, and we continue to take on board their valuable feedback to make these updates the best they can be.

Even when we can sense the frustration from various pockets of players, we know that Sea of Thieves’ community remains the best in gaming. Your enthusiasm, passion and commitment to our game makes us strive for the best – not just in delivering things you’re asking for, but by pushing us to think about ways we can continuously surprise and excite you.

[h3]Thank You[/h3]
Looking back at the highlights of 2023 so far, we’ve loved celebrating our fifth anniversary with you all, setting live more new Adventures, sending you off on The Hoarder’s Hunt and most recently releasing the first Legend of Monkey Island Tall Tale. Moving back the release of Season Ten is not exactly how we wanted to proceed with the year, but it does give us an opportunity to reinforce the Season with more content than originally planned – and we can’t wait to share more with you on what’s in store when the time’s right.

We look forward to carrying plenty of momentum into 2024 with plans that are ambitious and bold, including some important designs on refreshing the Sea of Thieves sandbox. Thank you for sticking with us – we appreciate you endlessly, and we’re committed to rewarding your patience with a bolstered, blockbuster final few months of 2023.

The wait is over and your journey deep in the Caribbean can begin! An exciting new expedition delivered across three of Sea of Thieves’ tried and tested Tall Tales, The Legend of Monkey Island was unveiled at last month’s Xbox Games Showcase and welcomes you to a whole new world on July 20th.

‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ is the first Tall Tale to arrive, but before we dive into more detail, let’s step back for a brief primer on The Legend of Monkey Island itself…

[h3]A Legend Sails In[/h3]
Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island is a collaboration between Rare and Lucasfilm Games that brings together two beloved casts of pirate characters to tell an original story. It’s designed to appeal to fresh-faced explorers and lifelong fans alike, immersing you in the world of Monkey Island in a hilarious and heartfelt love letter to the iconic adventure game series.

Across three new narrative-driven and voice-acted Tall Tales, released monthly, you’ll set sail in search of Guybrush Threepwood, go head-to-head with the ghost pirate Captain LeChuck and break a devious curse that has ensnared Mêlée Island.

Whether you’re solving puzzles, mastering Insult Sword Fighting or navigating through lava-filled catacombs with Guybrush as your guide, this is an opportunity to experience the world of Monkey Island like never before…

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[h3]Not Just Any Journey[/h3]
It all begins this month in the first new Tall Tale, ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’. After you've stopped by Capsize Charters at your starting Outpost, you’ll be ready to start the search for Guybrush Threepwood, who’s gone missing while on his way to the Sea of Thieves.

Once you reach Mêlée Island, you’ll explore iconic locations and meet familiar faces as you discover that things are not as they should be. Why does everyone believe Guybrush to be the greatest pirate who ever lived – and why has nobody seen him in so long?

Explore the riches recently revealed on Sea of Thieves’ YouTube channel to learn more about the puzzles and perils wrapped up in ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’, then get ready to sail some very different seas. Secrets, side-quests and new rewards await you…

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[h3]Into the Emporium[/h3]
As the first instalment of Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island arrives, so too does a fresh batch of Pirate Emporium stock. Ready to strike terror into the hearts of your foes? Take inspiration from the ghost pirate Captain LeChuck and outfit your vessel with the LeChuck’s Legacy ship set. Captains can add the finishing touch with a matching Ship’s Crest!

Or take on a more personal veneer of villainy by dressing like Guybrush’s arch-nemesis with the LeChuck Costume Set. Including three variants and a Swordpoint Stance Emote, it ensures even mighty pirates will regret crossing your path – especially if you come wielding the LeChuck’s Legacy weapons.

A Piranha Poodle pet and new artistic ship Trinkets round out The Legend of Monkey Island celebrations this month. All available alongside this new update from July 20th!

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So set out on ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ today, and discover what’s in store for you, Guybrush and an array of colourful characters found deep in the Caribbean as The Legend of Monkey Island unfolds this summer. We’ll see you in the Scumm Bar…

© 2023 MICROSOFT. © & ™ LUCASFILM LTD.

[h3]The Legend of Monkey Island[/h3]
Voyage deep into the Caribbean with Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island – an original story told across three Tall Tales, and a hilarious, heartfelt love letter to the iconic Monkey Island game series. The first of these Tall Tales is available to play now!

‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’

• An ambitious new arrival at the Outposts is seeking help to hunt down Guybrush Threepwood, who disappeared while sailing to the Sea of Thieves. Via the Sea of the Damned, you’ll journey to the fabled Mêlée Island, where Guybrush is now revered as a legendary pirate of unparalleled talents. Clearly, something is very wrong…
  
• New Commendations, achievements and rewards have been added with this update, marking your progress as you make your way through ‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ Tall Tale.
  
• To find out much more, head to our dedicated page on The Legend of Monkey Island.

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[h3]Pirate Emporium[/h3]
Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium page to find out more about the latest arrivals.

New Items – Now in Stock!

• LeChuck’s Legacy Ship Collection
  
• LeChuck’s Legacy Ship’s Crest
  
• LeChuck’s Legacy Weapon Bundle
  
• LeChuck Costume Set
  
• Piranha Poodle Pet
  
• Mêlée Island Painting Bundle
  
• Pocket Seagull Emote
  
• Close Call Weapon Pose Emote
  
• Spin and Shoot Emote (free!)
  
• Brooding Buccaneer Bundle (Steam Store)

[h3]Outpost Cosmetics [/h3]
New Weaponsmith Stock

• The Outpost weaponsmiths now stock a range of new swords. Pirates can pick up the Wailing Barnacle Heavy Sword, Wailing Barnacle Rapier, Silent Barnacle Heavy Sword and Silent Barnacle Rapier, all available to purchase with gold.

[h3]Accessibility [/h3]
Narration Playback Speed

• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ now have additional control within the Settings menu to adjust the playback speed of the narration to whatever is most convenient and comfortable for them.

Riddle Map Narration

• Players using ‘Let Games Read to Me’ will find that when raising a Riddle Map, the text found on the parchment will now be narrated.

[h3]Fixed Issues[/h3]
Gameplay

• Crews sinking a rival ship will now find that any resource barrels and treasure items left floating in the water are brought along with them after migrating servers.
  
• Pirates are once again able to place recovered Captain’s Logbooks into a Collector’s Chest.

Battle for the Sea of Thieves

• Crews are now consistently able to purchase Resource Crates and Captain’s Supplies upon arrival at the Outpost after losing a battle.
  
• The ship’s wheel will no longer be affected by storm conditions when diving below the waves or resurfacing for a battle.

Captains of Adventure

• Players who were eligible to receive the Gilded Sovereign Captain’s Table by reaching Class 50 in any Pirate Milestone prior to Captain’s Week will now find the item has been distributed to their accounts.
  
• Trinkets that are knocked out of place prior to migrating servers can once again be interacted with upon arrival.

Visual and Audio

• Pirates’ hands no longer intersect with the stock of the Beachcomber's Bounty Eye of Reach or Blunderbuss.
  
• The lanterns on the Dark Warsmith Ship’s Crest are now attached correctly and move with the ship.
  
• Equipping any regular pirate cosmetics while wearing the Skeleton Curse will no longer cause those items to be displayed together.
  
• Taking to a water slide should now show the correct visual splashes while descending.
  
• The Party Boat Cutlass now displays visual trails when swung.
  
• Watching a video from the What’s New section should no longer overlay button images on the video.

Text and Localisation

• Clues recovered during a Lost Shipment Voyage are no longer cut off at the edge of the parchment.

Performance and Stability

• Players will no longer experience instability when switching between video content in the What’s New section of the front end.
  
• Players on Steam Deck will no longer experience instability when attempting to play the intro video or browse the What’s New section on the front end.
  
• Ongoing improvements to server stability to reduce instances where players are disconnected from their session.

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]
To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.

[h3]Download and Installation[/h3]
Download Size:

• Steam: 14.64 GB

With the warm winds of June in our sails, the time has once again come to look back on the pirates who’ve recently stepped into our Spotlight to share their experiences on the Sea of Thieves. Since we last caught up with you in March, the brave souls below have faced our questions with nary a quiver, including noted cosplayers, gifted artists and community staples. Let’s find out what they all had to say…


First up was the costume connoisseur TizzyTam! In this Creator Spotlight, the cosplaying corsair regaled us with tales of her history with Crash Bandicoot, her experiences at SoTFest ’22 (including hosting) and how important it is to be yourself and not cave in to pressure from others. But do you think Sir Arthur Pendragon and Jar Jar Binks are synonymous? We have our doubts.


Later in March we lined up another Creator Spotlight, this time checking in with one of the community’s favourite yarn-spinners, Cliff the Story Guy. Taking a break from his usual schedule of sharing stories and guides on YouTube, Cliff delved into what brought him to video production in the first place and how his experiences shape his approach to content creation.


Next on our list, we returned to the world of streaming with the help of a recent inductee into the Sea of Thieves Partner Programme, LadyHaradaNiwa! Another pillar of the cosplay community and a big Belle fan, she discussed her journey to also becoming a Twitch Partner, how she got her channel name and what advice she’d offer to other upcoming content creators.


For our first Community Spotlight in this batch, we took the time to check in with artist and ten-time #SoTShot winner zNiinjaa to find out just what his secret is. Alongside reminiscing over The Arena, he discussed some of his favourite pieces of art and achievements in Sea of Thieves, as well as an unusual tattoo subject. Do you have any pirate-themed body mods?


As we moved into May, the Creator Spotlight highlighted event organiser and Nightmare mode hopeful LDSylvr. The conversation ranged from events like The Boomer Games and Captains of the Sylvr’d Waters to surviving tornadoes. If you’ve ever wondered why someone would undertake the mammoth task of trying to reach Pirate Legend without dying, give it a read…


May’s Community Spotlight saw us featuring our avian friend Owlet! Unsurprisingly, we did end up touching on the topic of his famous daily owl requests and appearance in the Voyage of a Lifetime documentary, but we also heard about his work in musical theatre and how he briefly became Emperor of Tamriel. Not a bad promotion for a weekend’s worth of work.


Forging ahead into June, we kept the Community Spotlights coming with a Wh1zzrr_ encounter, chatting to her just ahead of her entry into the Partner Programme ranks. As a TikTok-based pirate tipster and trainer, Wh1zzrr_ told us the tale of how she carved out this niche for herself before going on to mention her other interests in writing, museum-hopping and more.


In our final Spotlight for this catch-up batch, we hopped on deck with the fightin’ pirate AweCoop to hear about his adventures from well over a decade of creating content. Trusted friendships, time management, tennis and maintaining a healthy balance of trash-talking vs. wholesome encounters were other subjects we criss-crossed over the course of the conversation.
[hr][/hr]And thus, with a full four months’ worth of recent Spotlights under our belts, we call an end to the sixth Spotlight Showcase! As always, the full interviews can be found by clicking through to the Sea of Thieves website, all packed with interesting insights and fun facts about some of the community’s favourite faces. If you’re hungry for even more, you can read up on all our previous Community, Creator and Legend Spotlights via our News page, or catch the highlights in our previous Showcases.

We’ll be back with even more Spotlight fun in the next few weeks, so keep an eye on all the usual channels. Until then, farewell and may the wind be in your sails!

We always say it was a busy month, but June really was a busy month, wasn’t it? With a Mystery, an Event, a Showcase and an Adventure, there was hardly a moment to catch your breath, but fear not: the latest round-up is here to fill you in on anything you missed. All you need to do is sit back, pour yourself a responsible drink and join us on the latest little trip down memory lane.

[h3]Content Update[/h3]
We entered June with the community scrambling to uncover clues to solve the final stage of The Hoarder’s Hunt. The devilish schemes of ‘H’ had those hunters baffled for days, with the tempting promise of a golden skull only making the end goal more enticing. It took some time – and more code decryption than you’d usually expect to perform in your day-to-day life – but the Mystery was eventually cracked and the final chest opened! Of ‘H’ himself there was no sign, only one last letter left behind in farewell.

Elsewhere on the Outposts, the Sovereigns were a bit put out by all the attention the Gold Hoarders were getting, so they were only too happy to align themselves with a new Event. Captain’s Week offered opportunities for Captains across the waves to reap boosted rewards from their treasure and purchase ships at a discount – but even better, handing in those treasures to the Sovereigns allowed pirates to add the glistening Captain’s Rapier and Captain’s Heavy Sword to their armoury.

It was a good thing too, as they’d soon be called upon to take up arms again. With the launch of our latest time-limited Adventure, a summons by a powerful figure sent players out across the waves in search of a stolen artefact. After some reluctant help from the Order of Souls, the Adventure concluded with the discovery of a hidden vault and the realisation that not everything was as it seemed...


[h3]News and Features[/h3]
If you checked in to the Xbox Games Showcase early in June, you’ll already know our biggest news of the month: The Legend of Monkey Island is coming to Sea of Thieves! With the first of these new Tall Tales due to land later this month, our announcement article give some hints at what’s to come, along with all the details you’ll need to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Meanwhile, as Captain’s Week swept in with a gaggle of new ship owners, it seemed only reasonable to help speed them along with a handy-dandy guide to all the perks their new Captaincy status afforded them. Have you been making the best use of your ship-owning benefits?

There was also another selection of Spotlights to enjoy: this month we were joined by famed community builder and guide Wh1zzrr_ and competitive pro AweCoop to hear about their journey on the seas and any advice they were willing to share. And finally, rounding out the month, the Sea of Thieves Security Team stopped by to share some of their latest work in ensuring the seas stay safe and fair for all in our first Fair Play Update column.


[h3]Videos and Streams[/h3]
With various reveals and announcements happening, you might expect that our video roster for June was filled with trailers – and it was! – but first, we took some time for a little introspection. Since ‘We Shall Sail Together’ reached 10 million streams on Spotify at the tail end of May, we started the month by speaking to one of the musical maestros behind the shanty. Did you know the opening lyrics of ‘Who Shall Not Be Returning’ were originally written for ‘We Shall Sail Together’? Now you do!

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough music news for you, June also saw ‘Return of the Damned’ added to the streaming platform of your choice for assistance in making all those big life decisions. Does it really help? Probably not, but making them will feel a lot more epic with this playing in the background.

With those inspiring shanties fresh in our minds, it was then time to reveal our latest crossover and what better way to do so than with a snazzy announcement trailer? Premiered at the Xbox Games Showcase, this video offered everyone their first glimpse into the wonderful world of Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island. Not long now…

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[h3]Social Channels [/h3]
In what should come as a surprise to no-one, Captain’s Week had us musing on eternal questions like how we’d choose whose ship to sail on, or what’s the best name for a ship, or even which Trinkets are better than all the rest. Needless to say, we came to no conclusions, but we did get to enjoy some surprisingly in-depth art critiques of everyone’s paintings.

Steering us into safer, if no less competitive waters, we closed out the Mysterious Moments #SoTShot competition early in the month with a series of spooky scenes. Later, everything got a lot more colourful as entries poured in for the Pirate Pride category and a new round of exceptional photographers earned their Golden Hour Sails. We even had a few extra sails to give away this month to anyone who could come up with an outstanding suggestion for future #SoTShot themes.

That wasn’t the only giveaway either, as one lucky Twitter user won themselves a copy of the newly compiled Sea of Thieves: Origins – Champion of Souls graphic novel! Alongside the latest round of Twitch Drops and a host of new Community Hub winners, June was clearly a good time to pick up some prizes.



And that, finally, brings us to the end of June! Was there anything we missed? What was your favourite part? What would you do if you were a fish? So many questions to consider. While you mull over these conundrums for the ages, feel free to head on over to our social channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Twitch, or join the official Forums or Discord. That way you’ll be able to keep up with all our latest news revelations and Subjects of Discourse as they arise, and ping over any feedback you want to share. Otherwise, we’ll be back in a month with all the joys of July – see you then!

[hr][/hr][h3]Previously in 2023: [/h3]
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2023 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2023 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2023 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2023 Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2023