Sea of Thieves launched in 2018 with mixed reviews and while it had shown potential, a lot of people were not impressed with the amount of content offered. Since then, development studio Rare put out massive content updates that helped the game achieve a massive comeback. In 2020, two years after the game’s initial release, the player count rose sharply and the game has received a lot of praise over the years.
Xbox Game Pass also played an important role in the game’s success, allowing players to try out the game as part of the subscription service on Xbox or PC. If you have never played Sea of Thieves or abandoned the game after trying it at launch, here’s what you need to know about the state of the game in 2023.
How Sea of Thieves Overcame Troubled Waters
After launching with mixed reviews from both critics and players, the game started receiving some very important updates that would change the course of the game’s fate. The developers promised players that they would deliver quality updates that would meet expectations, and we did get what was promised.
The Pixar-style graphics and environments were great, to begin with, but there was not enough content. From story content in the form of Tall Tales to more activities that players can be a part of, a lot was added over the years and the game continues to receive major updates to this date.
The game saw a surge in players in 2020 and it continues to command a sizeable playerbase to this date. In 2023, we already received some welcome PvP changes as well as story content. There are live events and quality-of-life changes that are added to improve player experience.
If you hop into Sea of Thieves today, you can easily spend around 100 hours completing just the Tall Tales and raising your reputation with factions (emissaries). There are giant sea creatures to beat and raid-style encounters that you can engage in. The game has significantly more content than it did in 2018, and the game has come a long way after its somewhat disappointing launch.
Sandbox-style Gameplay Done Right
In Sea of Thieves, can go on missions or freely explore the world and experience hidden locations, combat other players, or clear public events. Everything rewards you with chests and other precious items that you can collect and you can turn them in for in-game currency and reputation with various factions.
Raising your faction levels and becoming Pirate Legend are just byproducts of what you can do. There is no gear progression as everyone has access to the same weaponry. The reward structure is purely cosmetic. You can play for 10 minutes or several hours, and cash in your rewards at any time.
The PvP in Sea of Thieves is instanced and there is a limit to how many crews can be present at the same time in a lobby. You can communicate with other players and become allies, or you can combat them if you wish to and steal your loot. If your ship sinks, you die. But unlike many other games, you can just get on a new ship and chase down your attackers and fight them. In my personal experience, players are mostly cooperative but if you want to embrace the dark side and embrace your inner pirate, you can choose to do so.
PvP in Sea of Thieves is mostly optional and there are dedicated PvP modes that you can engage in. The multiplayer combat takes a bit of time to get used to and it can be a lot of fun, but I understand that it’s not for everyone.
A Cosmetic-Only Monetization System
The game is centered around its cosmetics. You can purchase a bunch of cosmetics just by playing the game and making in-game currency. But there is also the Pirate Emporium, a premium shop that houses some fancy cosmetics that you want. Purchasing these cosmetics requires you to spend Ancient Coins, which are very hard to get in-game. The currency is sold directly for real money.
You can run into Ancient Skeletons, that drop a small number of Ancient Coins but they are extremely rare and in my personal experience, I ran into them only three or four times a month. The other source of Ancient Coins is the Plunder Pass. You get 250 Ancient Coins even if you do not purchase the Plunder Pass, which is the Sea of Thieves iteration of the season/battle pass seen in other games.
Players who do not purchase Ancient Coins will still be able to purchase the Plunder Pass premium version eventually. You get all of your Ancient Coins back if you complete any of the Plunder passes, similar to the progression systems seen in Fortnite and Apex Legends. These passes offer cosmetics and spending on the premium pass, will net you cosmetics “worth $40 USD” from the Pirate Emporium.
None of the premium cosmetics affect gameplay and the monetization feels fair for a live-service title. In my region, the game on sale is priced at around $6 during sales on Steam so the added monetization through battle passes and cosmetics does not feel intrusive. Considering all of the content offered within seasons is free for all, you can safely ignore all microtransactions if you wish to without losing out on anything. But I would recommend picking a couple of pets up once you have enough Ancient Coins from gameplay, as they can make your experience in Sea of Thieves a little more enjoyable.
Should You Play Seas of Thieves in Its Current State?
Yes, but only if you have at least one other person to play with. While it might be an enjoyable experience for solo players too, Sea of Thieves can feel awfully tedious without friends, especially when it comes to managing your ship. It is a casual sandbox game that can be a lot of fun with friends and there’s plenty of content to easily make you sink around 80-100 hours. It is very easy to get into and worth checking out especially if you have a Game Pass subscription, or you can pick it up on sale.
