This week, Sea of Thieves developers from Rare put on a stream meant to inform its community about upcoming content for the sea-faring, multiplayer game. However, what viewers got was a surprise that few could have expected, and that made one Rare team member infamous.
The intent of the latest Sea of Thieves stream was to discuss the Pirate Emporium, a premium store that is coming to the game with the Smuggler’s Fortune update. Included in the Pirate Emporium are pets, which players can buy and then take with them on their pirate adventures. So in Rare’s mind it only felt appropriate to bring a pet of its own to the stream: a monkey.
However, as the saying goes, “Never work with animals or children,” and Rare soon learned why. About halfway through the Smuggler’s Fortune update stream, the monkey walks over to Rare Community Video Manager Jon McFarlane and vomits on his shirt.
It isn’t long before the other members of the Sea of Thieves team notice what the monkey has done and it’s all they can do not to burst out laughing. And what was initially meant to be a stream for informing the Sea of Thieves community about a new feature, instead turned into an unforgettable livestream fail.
To McFarlane’s credit, he continued for another 20 minutes in the stream without stepping offscreen or removing his shirt. He does his best to clean up the monkey mess, but few would have blamed him if he cut his appearance then and there.
There’s something oddly comedic about a stream in which a monkey pukes as a developer talks about its upcoming premium store. Gamers have mixed feelings about microtransactions in games and while this Pirate Emporium will likely finance future content beyond the Smuggler’s Update, it’s safe to assume some players had a similar feeling in their stomachs.
Still, as with every cosmetic in Sea of Thieves, it is purely optional and does not impact gameplay. And as mentioned, without microtransactions, Sea of Thieves players wouldn’t have content updates to look forward to.
Regardless of how players feel about Sea of Thieves, they can all share in the regret that Jon McFarlane feels as a monkey ruins his shirt live on the Internet.
Sea of Thieves’ Smuggler’s Fortune Update releases September 11, 2019 for PC and Xbox One.