Sea of Stars News

Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker Free DLC is Out Now!

Hello everyone,

The time has come: Throes of the Watchmaker — the free DLC for Sea of Stars — is out now!

We spent nearly two incredible years crafting this free DLC as a heartfelt thank-you to our fans. Your support made it possible, and we hope this bonus final adventure for Sea of Stars will bring you joy.

To celebrate the launch, Sea of Stars is currently available at its lowest price since release, with a limited-time discount of 35% off!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If you want to help in bringing more eyeballs to this circus-themed romp, the best way is always to leave a comment on the trailer on YouTube, and share [our posts] on social media.

[h2]How To Access The DLC?[/h2]

1. The DLC is not included as an automatic update. To get started, you’ll need to manually download it from Steam or your console’s storefront.

2. Throes of the Watchmaker is a post-game adventure, so you must open up a save file where you have rolled the end credits at least once to unlock access.

3. After meeting the requirement above, return to the world map in-game. You’ll receive a new prompt via a message-in-a-bottle: It’s a message from Hortence urging you to return to the Vespertine and check on Keenathan.

When prompted with: “Hortence sounds really worried. Should we visit the crew right now?” Choose Yes to continue.

4. You’ll be transported to the top deck of the Vespertine. Head below deck and speak with the pirate crew to officially begin the Throes of the Watchmaker side-adventure.

5. Malevolent spectacle awaits!

[h2]Italian Localization[/h2]

Great news for our Italian friends!

Italian localization is now available for both the Sea of Stars main adventure and the free DLC.

[h2]Alright, Time to Play Now![/h2]

This release marks the full realization of everything we set out to build — first with Dawn of Equinox, and now with this DLC. What a journey it’s been over the last few years! We’re incredibly grateful for your support at every step of the way.

We hope that this farewell letter to our dream project will bring you joy, and that you will allow it to tell you one last time, from all of us: THANK YOU!

All the love,
-SaboTeam

New Sea of Stars DLC is a completely original eight-hour campaign, totally free

On the surface, Sea of Stars is an appeal to basic nostalgia, a kind of aesthetical victory lap for the likes of Chrono Trigger and Earthbound. But the longer you play it, the more it becomes a credible, modern RPG in its own right. Already one of the genre's most beloved, while Monster Hunter Wilds, Clair Obscur Expedition 33, and of course Oblivion Remastered occupy the charts, the new Sea of Stars DLC makes Sabotage's 2023 hit feel fresh again. Dawn of the Equinox added couch co-op and a rebuilt combat system. Now, Throes of the Watchmaker is bringing an entirely new, post-main-game campaign. And not only is it totally free - we now know the release date.

Read the rest of the story...

Very good RPG Sea of Stars gets a free eight hour DLC campaign about a creepy clockwork circus

"A beautifully made retro-inspired RPG that will instantly transport you back to the 16-bit golden years, for better or worse," was how Katherine Castle (RPS in peace) summarised Sea Of Stars, a Chrono Trigger-style pixelart sojourn down memory lane from Sabotage Studios, creators of The Messenger. I imagine it's better rather than worse for the addition of some sizeable, circus-themed free DLC, Throes Of The Watchmaker.

Out 20th May, the expansion adds a new playable character, Arty, together with an estimated eight hours of new areas, music, dungeons, minigames, enemies, bosses, puzzles, and playable classes for original protagonists Valere and Zale. Run your rose-tinted retinas over this trailer.

Throes of the Watchmaker is Coming May 20th + New Trailer!

Hello everyone,

The day is set: Throes of the Watchmaker — the free DLC for Sea of Stars — is coming to all platforms on May 20th, 2025!

The announcement was made this morning, accompanied by a whole new trailer showcasing the scope, narrative, and tone of this wacky post-game bonus adventure. We hope you're as excited as we are, because the playtest results are in and it clocks over 8 hours of completely new content!

The scope of this DLC went way beyond what we initially envisioned, which was only made possible through the warm and overwhelming response we have been blessed with.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If you want to help in bringing more eyeballs to this circus-themed romp, the best way is always to leave a comment on the video on YouTube, and share our posts on social media.

[h2]THROES OF THE WATCHMAKER DEV STREAM, TODAY AT 2PM ET![/h2]

The trailer is here, and the release date is set — it’s time to celebrate! Join us live later today as we showcase Throes of the Watchmaker. We’ll take you inside the miniature clockwork world of Horloge to explore the DLC’s unique mechanics.

Come on and join us at 2PM ET, it should be a lot of fun: twitch.tv/sabotagestudio

[h2]MALEVOLENT SPECTACLE AWAITS[/h2]

Since it’s been a long time since our latest update on the DLC, here’s a recap of what you can expect from Throes of the Watchmaker.

[h3]Over 8 hours of completely new Areas, Music, Dungeons, Mini-Games, Enemies, Bosses, and Puzzles[/h3]

Journey into a magical miniature clockwork world where a plethora of oddities and wonders await. The world of Horloge is filled with unique environments, NPCs, enemies and dungeons. This thing is packed, with Throes of the Watchmaker boasting the same budget for cinematics that the main game had, allowing us to richly realize key narrative moments and deliver this new tale with even more density and production value.

And of course, Sabotage’s composer Eric W. Brown returns alongside guest composer Yasunori Mitsuda to bring a completely fresh set of tracks!

[h3]New Playable Classes for Valere and Zale[/h3]

The world of Horloge plays by different rules, and for their magic to manifest, the Solstice Warriors will need to adapt. Zale will tap into his agility to become a Juggler, while Valere will harness her balance to dazzle as an Acrobat. Playing to the circus-themed curse, they will unlock a completely new set of attacks, damage types, skills and combos.

[h3]New Playable Character: Arty[/h3]

Artificer joins the party! The friendly engineer robot will finally unlock the laser-shooting capabilities of his construct, and join Valere and Zale in the fight to save Horloge.

[h3]Couch Co-Op With Up To 3 Players[/h3]

The couch co-op mode that was added to Sea of Stars via the Dawn of Equinox update in November 2024 is also available for Throes of the Watchmaker. It allows up to three players to engage in traversal and combat with a “Co-Op timed hits” mechanic!

[h2]THAT’S IT FOR NOW[/h2]

We’d love for you to join us for the Throes of the Watchmaker DLC dev stream later today! If you can’t make it, no worries — the VOD will be available tomorrow, and we’ll see you on May 20th when the DLC launches for free, everywhere.

We hope that this farewell letter to our dream project will bring you joy, and that you will allow it to tell you one last time, from all of us: THANK YOU!

All the love,
-SaboTeam

One of our favorite RPGs is about to get even better

A lot of retro style games miss the mark, trying to appeal more to pleasant memories of older experiences than proving their own worth, on their own terms. Last year's Sea of Stars, though, managed to stand out beyond nostalgic appeal, earning a place alongside other noteworthy throwback games - like the shooters Dusk or Trepang2 and adventures like Return of the Obra Dinn and The Excavation of Hob's Barrow. Now, creator Sabotage Studio has announced that it has an unexpected new update set to come to the game: a three-player multiplayer mode.

Read the rest of the story...