After suffering from a lack of content at launch, Rare's pirate simulator Sea of Thieves has since redeemed itself with regular updates following its 2018 release, becoming a consistently popular game. As a shared-world adventure, players can plunder, skirmish, and sail the seas alongside friends and strangers, creating their own stories and crafting their own encounters. Completing voyages and commanding ships from streamlined sloops to impressive galleons gave Sea of Thieves players a taste of the pirate life, and thanks to seasonal support and updates from the developers, the game has increased what it has to offer over time and kept players coming back.
But as is the way with online games that have dedicated post-launch support, sometimes new content is added, but sometimes features are taken away. Rare confirmed that the PvP Arena mode will close down, bringing an end to dedicated player battles and contests of seafaring skill. While some gamers will no doubt miss the chance to go head-to-head in a space specifically designed for PvP, Rare revealed that only around two percent of Sea of Thieves' playtime takes place in The Arena. With other recent changes like a cap on ships in each server, Rare is aiming to reduce the features in certain areas to make the experience of Sea of Thieves more slick and streamlined.
Arena Closure — The What, Why, And When
With Rare's recent announcement, The Arena will officially shut down on Thursday, March 10 just as Sea of Thieves' Season 6 gets underway. This is certainly a blow for players that would rather test their mettle (and the power of their cannons) against fellow pirates than explore the dangerous waters and mysterious shores of Sea of Thieves.
Having a purely PvP mode offered flexibility to gamers, and meant that they could pick and choose which aspects of Sea of Thieves they could engage with. While Rare described the decision to officially close down The Arena as "difficult," it said it was an important step so that the studio could focus on bringing new content to players that might prove more popular and help to refresh the core aspects of Sea of Thieves.
With the reduction of ships on Sea of Thieves servers in another update combined with the removal of The Arena, it may now be even more difficult for players to run into enemy ships while sailing the seas in order to engage in some combat. Some gamers may not even wish to start a fight, so those that do will now have their options to pursue ship-based combat in Sea of Thieves even more reduced. Similarly, there are specific achievements tied to the PvP mode that will now be impossible for players to earn. For any gamers wanting to make the most of the PvP area before it is thrown overboard forever, they still have a little bit of time to enjoy The Arena before March.
What Else Is On The Horizon
As a game as a service, Sea of Thieves is dedicated to updating its content for years to come. From crossovers and collaborations with other franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean to new seasons and timed events, Sea of Thieves has continued to provide new features and story elements to deepen the world of the game and expand the experience. With a recent February update, Rare made some changes to the base game, including adding an accessibility feature that causes the wheel to squeak at various volumes when it's turned a quarter each way. Limited-time adventures like the Shrouded Islands are another addition, providing players with plenty to do while they sail Sea of Thieves' troubled waters.
With Season 6 now fast approaching, players are looking forward to even more new content and updates that will see Sea of Thieves continue to grow and hopefully improve. The focus of Sea of Thieves' next big season will be the Sea Forts – events similar to raids, but which solo players can also complete to open up the content to all types of gamers. Players will need to storm these new stone forts as they collect loot and take out a number of supernatural enemies. One of the biggest new additions also coming with Season 6 are the "Adventures" missions. These monthly, ongoing events will each feature an opening cinematic to introduce them and help the players to fully immerse themselves in the Sea of Thieves story.
While players may be losing some content, it's safe to say that more is always on the way to ensure that Sea of Thieves remains a fun and exciting experience.
Sea of Thieves is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.