Live-service games can have difficult journeys on the way to popularity. If developers can't nail down the concept and the hook early enough, it risks losing players as they flock to other similar titles that have had more successful launches. However, it's the nature of live-service games that they constantly adapt, update, and progress through post-launch life cycles, and if players can invest in them, then the payoff can be worth it. This was the case for Rare's pirate action-adventure game Sea of Thieves. Although the open-world online game didn't have the most auspicious of starts, Sea of Thieves grew to become one of Xbox’s most popular live-service games.
The industry is no stranger to redemption stories for online games. One of the most famous examples in recent years was the hugely ambitious No Man's Sky, which failed to deliver on its promises at launch and faced a vitriolic response from gamers. Thanks to the dedicated support it received from Hello Games, No Man's Sky was able to turn around its negative reception and even win the award for "Best Ongoing Game" at the 2020 Game Awards. Sea of Thieves didn't face quite so steep a climb to restore its pre-launch anticipation, but its initial few months were hardly what the developers would have wanted. In a few short years, Sea of Thieves has emerged from player disappointment and is cresting the wave of popularity in a well-deserved reversal of fortunes.
Changes From Sea of Thieves' Launch
It wasn't all doom and gloom for the launch of Sea of Thieves. Some players instantly took to the game and loved the freedom of exploring the open oceans with a hearty crew of pirate mates. However, there were others who felt that the content was on the lighter side, and there wasn't enough to the game to keep them coming back for more. When the main aim of a game is to give players the tools to craft their own personal stories and shape their own adventures, like in games such as Rust and EVE Online, this feeling that the game was lacking in content was a major thorn in Sea of Thieves' side.
Luckily, Rare was committed to supporting the game and offering a ton of new exciting updates to keep players onboard or entice old ones back. Obviously this is just the model for games as a service, but some titles can overload players with new content that doesn't always tick the right boxes, so it's important that any post-launch support is not only consistent but also consistently good. Along with periodic expansions, Rare released time-limited challenges to keep players occupied between major releases. Rare even adopted a "battle pass" model like popular online games such as Fortnite, with live events and new content for players to enjoy.
Sea of Thieves also started to collaborate with other popular franchises like Borderlands and Pirates of the Caribbean, including beloved characters from the famous movie series and cosmetic additions from the fan-favorite FPS. With new sea creatures to battle, an AI-controlled skeleton ship to face (thanks to player requests), and a campaign to play through if gamers are so inclined, Sea of Thieves has broadened its horizons considerably.
Why Players Should Give Sea of Thieves Another Chance
The biggest boon to any live-service game is a thriving community — it makes in-game encounters more exciting, producing a world that feels more vibrant and full, and it creates a life for the game on social media and in forums. Thanks to Sea of Thieves' popularity, it has offered a glimmer of hope to other pirate-themed games. It has also ensured that its own world is brimming with treasure-seeking scallywags and pesky privateers, which adds so much depth and diversity to the game.
With exciting ship battles and chance encounters to contend with, traversing the oceans in search of booty has never been so risky or rewarding. What good is sailing the seven seas if you're not going to bump into anyone to engage in an epic exchange of cannon fire with, after all.
Sea of Thieves had a solid concept to begin with, and its sailing mechanics and elements of exploration were praised. So much so that some players chose to experience Sea of Thieves solo for those aspects alone. However, it wasn't until Rare started to pack the game with updates and expansions that it really came into its own.
Seasonal content and more in-depth storytelling gave gamers a reason to stick around if the original game didn't grab them, and now that Sea of Thieves has fully found its sea legs, it's almost a completely different game from when it was first launched. With Rare committing to supporting Sea of Thieves for many years to come, it seems like there will be plenty of pirating to enjoy for a good while.
Sea of Thieves is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.