Season 17 has begun! And some unfamiliar faces have been spied on remote islands as The Smugglers’ League settle in and begin their hunt for high-value, dangerous prizes.

While they show a surprising appreciation of Fine Art and fragile bottles of even finer rum, the League are also on the hunt for Black Powder Barrels. These devastating delights pack more of a punch than any other explosive on the seas, so you’ll want to be careful about bringing them aboard your own ship.

And there is cargo to be found! A recent run of bad luck has seen several Smugglers’ Shipwrecks left to languish beneath the waves, hiding treasures that can be returned to the League for a comfortable payout.

Season 17 wouldn’t be complete without a host of new Commendations to measure your success! Completing Voyages for the Smugglers and handing in their cargo will help you unlock a wealth of cosmetics to update your pirate’s style.

September and October will bring in Act 2 and Act 3 of Season 17, where there’ll be plenty more Smuggler activity to join in with including a daring Heist and newly fortified Reaper Fortresses. Get a preview of those in the Content Update trailer:

For the more complete rundown of what you can look forward to in the Season, head to the full Season 17 Launch Article. And for even more details in painfully diligent detail that the Merchant Alliance would surely give a small nod of approval, you can read the release notes right here.

The free Rare Ruby Eyepatch is now on offer as a celebratory Sea of Thieves login bonus to mark Rare Ltd's 40th anniversary! Set sail between now and Sea of Thieves' September update to secure your celebratory patch.

There's plenty more to discover with today's update, from a new Plunder Pass and Pirate Profiles in the Emporium to a range of new Outpost cosmetics to splash your gold on, so all that's left is to wish you successful smuggling! We'll see you on the seas...

Season 17 has begun! And some unfamiliar faces have been spied on remote islands as The Smugglers’ League settle in and begin their hunt for high-value, dangerous prizes. They’re open to letting pirate crews help them transport their cargo where it needs to go, and maybe recovering some choice items misplaced along the way. Their true goal, however, remains rather mysterious… but for now, let’s find out what you can expect from this new Season in Sea of Thieves!

These shadowy newcomers have set up shop in secret hideaways across the seas, and they’ve set their sights on some explosive new treasures. While they show a surprising appreciation of Fine Art and fragile bottles of even finer rum, the League are also on the hunt for Black Powder Barrels. These devastating delights pack more of a punch than any other explosive on the seas, so you’ll want to be careful about bringing them aboard your own ship.

As The Smugglers’ League get accustomed to life on the Sea of Thieves, they’re recruiting pirates to ferry some of their precious cargo safely from pick-up point to destination. That means sending crews out on Smugglers’ Route Runs, perilous delivery Voyages along a highly contested route. If you want to make it through unscathed and with the cargo still in your possession, you’ll need to keep a keen eye on that horizon. Elsewhere, find a Message in a Bottle with the Smugglers’ mark and you can set out on other Smugglers’ Runs too, ranging far and wide with some of the most valuable contraband on the seas.

You don’t last long in the smuggling trade by doing business out in the open, so The Smugglers’ League have sought secret spots on the Sea of Thieves to conduct their covert operations. Each of them has established a Smugglers’ Hideout, somewhere out of sight and protected by traps. You’ll have to pinpoint these Hideouts yourself if you want to get to know the League and deliver any cargo you discover on your travels.

And there is cargo to be found! A recent run of bad luck has seen several Smugglers’ Shipwrecks left to languish beneath the waves, hiding treasures that can be returned to the League for a comfortable payout. Some of this wayward cargo has also washed up on beaches for passing ships to spot, while opportunistic Skeleton Ships have been seen to scoop up the rest. Hunt them down and sink them if you want to claim those spoils for yourself…

Surreptitious they may be, but those Smugglers don’t sit still for long. When September and October bring in Act 2 and Act 3 of Season 17, there’ll be plenty more Smuggler activity to join in, including a daring Heist that pits crew against crew to secure some very valuable loot. Those who take part will descend upon Royal Crest Fortress in search of a painting specially requested by an important patron of the League, but remember: you won’t be the only one after the prize! Surviving skirmishes with rival sailors will be crucial to claiming the payout.

In the meantime, Captain Flameheart’s forces are using the distraction offered by the League’s arrival to strengthen their position at the Skeleton Forts. In Act 3 of Season 17, you’ll be able to find the newly fortified Reaper Fortresses under siege from a Phantom fleet. Fight off both sides, and you might just be able to escape with a cache of dangerous loot – provided none of the Fort’s new traps get you first…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhrIsEoPNG0

With so many new additions to the seas, Season 17 wouldn’t be complete without a host of new Commendations to measure your success! Completing Voyages for the Smugglers and handing in their cargo will help you unlock a wealth of cosmetics to update your pirate’s style. For completionists, new achievements (and Trophies) present a tantalising challenge as the potential gamerscore on offer climbs towards a tremendous total…

As always, there are new Pirate Emporium offerings including the dusty outlaw chic of the Riptide Rodeo set, plus of course a new Season means a new Plunder Pass packed with goodies to unlock – this time including the Rare Regalia ship set and clothing, as well as 750 Ancient Coins for spending in the Pirate Emporium.

Whether you pick up the Pass or not, there’s a trove of rewards on offer for climbing 100 more levels of Renown this Season, including items from the Master of the High Seas, Fabled Fins and Faraway Shores sets. To help you earn these time-limited rewards, a new Deed system has been implemented to encourage arrangements with the Smugglers and earn increased Renown by doing so!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7yJNfCsqxEPirate Profiles also arrive this Season, offering a way to access an extra pirate persona without overwriting your existing one. Want to keep your current adventurer firmly on their own path, while embarking on a separate seafaring saga under another pirate identity? Adding a new Pirate Profile will let you do that, splitting your time between two (or three, or more) profiles as you see fit. Swing by the Pirate Emporium and purchase a Pirate Deed if this sounds like something for you!

There are a lot of changes coming to the seas this Season, spaced out to ensure you have something new to discover each month. For a full tour of everything arriving in August, be sure to read through the detailed Season launch release notes, and check out the dedicated Season 17 page – and for more about the features coming in September and October, follow Sea of Thieves on your social media channel of choice to stay in the loop. Until then, we wish you good luck and successful smuggling!

New blood brings new opportunities as The Smugglers’ League settle into the shadows of the Sea of Thieves! To learn more about this Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 17 page.

The Smugglers’ League

• The Smugglers' League have sailed in from unknown waters and established six Hideouts across the islands of the Sea of Thieves. Visit these new locations to learn more about The Smugglers’ League and cash in Smugglers’ treasure.

Smugglers’ Route Run

• The Smugglers’ League now provide an on-demand Voyage from the Quest Table, tasking crews with covertly transporting dangerous and fragile high-value goods.

• The Smugglers’ Route Run will always direct players down the same treacherous pathway marked on the ship’s map, where other opportunist crews may lie in wait…

Messages in a Bottle

• For the duration of Season 17, any Message in a Bottle discovered outside The Devil's Roar will offer a sneaky Smugglers’ Run along a route hidden from the map, providing lucrative rewards.

Black Powder Barrels

• The Black Powder Barrel is a powerful new explosive item that can be sold to The Smugglers’ League at their Hideouts.

• This barrel is held upright, making it an easier target, but is also reinforced for increased durability. The barrel will show visual signs of damage before it explodes, dealing more damage than a Stronghold Keg and with a considerably wider blast radius.

• Each Black Powder Barrel has a long 10-second fuse, allowing for more devious traps to be laid.

Smuggling Skeleton Ships

• Skeleton Ships have recovered valuable Smugglers’ League treasure items and weapons, and are now stockpiling them on board in addition to their usual rewards.

• Skeleton Ships are now guaranteed to have a Black Powder Barrel aboard, and a high chance of rare items like the exotic rum crates favoured by the Smugglers, Skulls of Siren Sorrow and Ashen Winds Skulls.

• All roaming and ambushing Skeleton Ships encountered on the seas contain these new Smugglers’ League treasures, while the Skeleton Fleet world encounter remains unchanged.

Smugglers’ Shipwrecks

• Crews setting sail may now discover these smuggling vessels sunk while transporting their precious cargo. While these wrecks are rarer than traditional shipwrecks, their rewards are worth the detour!

• Smugglers’ Shipwrecks contain an assortment of high-value treasure in addition to their usual rewards, with unique ship journals that can be returned to The Smugglers’ League and an assortment of weapons including devastating Black Powder Barrels.

• Players diving down to a Smugglers’ Shipwreck will find handy air bubbles throughout the ship to help them while exploring.

• For the duration of Season 17, the Reaper’s Chest and Reaper’s Bounty are now exclusively found within sunken Smugglers’ Shipwrecks and no longer found within the Fort of the Damned.

Smugglers’ Caches

• As some of the Smugglers’ vessels have been lost at sea, caches of their goods have now begun washing ashore on islands. Finding them will reward eagle-eyed crews with various Smuggler treasures and resources.

Reaper’s Bones Rowboats

• These returning Rowboats have been refitted with reinforced Gunpowder Barrels and can also be found with a cannon or harpoon attached. They can be rowed, docked and repaired just like standard Rowboats, but detonate after taking enough damage or when the fuse is lit.

• While now a permanent addition to the seas, these Rowboats will appear more frequently for the duration of Season 17.

Smugglers’ Tide Commendations and Rewards

• A range of new Smuggler Commendations have been added this Season to provide an additional challenge to players. Explore these from the newly rebranded Adventure at Sea Commendation tab in the Pirate Log.

• The Smugglers’ League now offer access to themed clothing and ship rewards along with a range of Trinkets and a mischievous Black Powder Barrel Disguise, unlocked through their Commendations. These items will arrive over the course of Season 17 and can be found in Outpost shops once unlocked.

Season Overview Menu

• A new Season Menu has been introduced, showcasing the new content set to arrive this Season and helping players track their progress and earned rewards.

• The Overview tab breaks the Season into three Acts, highlighting the content coming throughout these three months of updates. Players can view the content, progress and available rewards.

• The Deeds & Rewards tab introduces challenges to complete during each Act. Completing these will earn players a boost to their Season progression along with a few time-limited rewards.

• With this new approach to Seasons, the old Weekly, Monthly and Seasonal Trials and Daily Deeds have now been retired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhrIsEoPNG0

Another Season means 100 new levels to climb by raising your Renown, with racks full of rewards to snag along the way – and an optional Plunder Pass adding even more!

Season 17 Rewards and Plunder Pass

• Progressing through the 100 levels of Renown in Season 17 will reward players with Master of the High Seas clothing items and unique Season 17 rewards, alongside time-limited Fabled Fins collectibles. Head to the Seasons profile page to browse the new rewards and check your pirate’s progress!

• Pick up a Plunder Pass to gain access to a plethora of additional unlockable cosmetics from the Rare Regalia collection, including a ship set and selection of themed clothing, all individually earned by raising your Renown. The Plunder Pass can be purchased in-game through the Pirate Log or Pirate Emporium, or via the Pirate Emporium webpage or Steam Item Store.

Season 17 Emissary Ledger Rewards

• This Season, the Guild Emissary Ledgers offer the ‘Moonrise Mariners’ Painting, ‘The Unseen Deal’ Ornament and the Guild of Crafty Contrabandists Title to Guilds who represent them well and perform proudly in the Ledgers.

• The Hunter’s Call Emissary Ledger now offers the Call of the Seas Wheel and Cannons along with the Assailant of Treacherous Targets Title. These new rewards are earnable by Hunters representing the Company as Emissaries.

Chest of Fortune

• The Chest of Fortune remains within the Fort of Fortune and crews can now earn the next Grade of the Fortune’s Favour Commendation, unlocking access to the Regal Fortune Lantern, Spyglass, Compass and Bucket.

Reaper’s Chests

• Crews chasing down the tell-tale beacon of the Reaper’s Chest or Reaper’s Bounty can earn the next Grade of the Reaper’s Riches Commendation and start unlocking access to the Regal Fortune Banjo and Drum.

Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Riptide Rodeo Ship Collection and Ship’s Crest

• Riptide Rodeo Weapon Bundle

• Riptide Rodeo Hat, Jacket, Boots and Mask

• Riptide Rodeo Pocket Watch

• Ghostly Curse Alsatian (requires Pirate Legend status)

• Fan the Hammer Emote (free!)

Pirate Profiles

• Players can now purchase additional Pirate Profiles, unlocking access to multiple pirate slots from the Pirate tab in the front-end menu. Each pirate will have their own journey with separate progression, rewards and visual customisation.

• Players can open up these extra profiles by purchasing a Pirate Deed, either from the Pirate Menu or the Pirate Emporium, where bundles of three Deeds can also be purchased at a discount. Once a Deed has been purchased, players can create and customise a new pirate.

• Pirate Appearance Potions can now be used on individual pirates through the Pirate Menu.

Sea of Thieves studio Rare is celebrating 40 years of making games, and the festivities include a range of Ruby-themed cosmetics rolled out for pirate players to pick up in various ways!

Login Bonus

• Players will receive the Rare Ruby Eyepatch for free when arriving on the seas at any time between Season 17 launch day and September 1st.

Outpost Stock

• Appropriately colourful new items are now on offer in the Outpost shops: the Ruby Celebrations Eyeshadow, Lipstick and Makeup along with Red Buckled Boots, Red Sailor Bandana and Red Stitched Shirt.

Pirate Emporium

• Available to buy until the September update, the Ruby Reaper’s Mark Sails put a special anniversary spin on this classic time-limited design.

Microsoft Rewards

• Players can acquire the Rare Ruby Hat as a redeemable item through Microsoft Rewards.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can get access to the Rare Ruby Emote through the XGPU Perks programme.

Season Ten Legacy Cosmetics

• Cosmetics previously available during Season Ten have arrived in the Outpost shops and can now be purchased with Doubloons!

• Players can purchase the Intrepid Explorer clothing set, plus the Intrepid Explorer Bobbed Hair, Braided Hair and Beard. The Compass of Nuanced Navigation, Spyglass of Skilful Steering and Bucket of Eternal Cooking are also available.

• Pirate Legends can purchase the Larinna Tribute Tattoo.

• The time-limited Gilded Sovereign items, however, remain exclusive to players who participated in Season Ten.

Improved Controller Keybinds

• Players on controller now have the ability to use separate keybinds for a range of actions. These actions can now be customised independently or share a button: Secondary Interact and Swap Weapons, Secondary Interact and Reload, and Primary Interact and Reload.

• These keybinds can be customised in the Controller Settings Menu, with the default remaining as Y on Xbox controller and Triangle on DualSense™ wireless controller, and can be reset to default if changed at any time.

Cross-Region Matchmaking Improvements

• Following the release of Cross-Region Matchmaking in 3.4.1, players now have the choice to opt out of this feature and return to only matchmaking within their home region.

• Players are free to change this setting either in the front-end settings or in-game during a session, and this will take effect when next attempting to matchmake into an experience such as Faction Battles, Voyages, entering the Tunnels of the Damned for Tall Tales or scuttling a ship.

• When playing in a crew, if any player has chosen to opt out of Cross-Region Matchmaking, that will prevent the crew from migrating across regions during their session.

• Support for additional regions has been added in France, South Africa and India, providing lower-latency servers for players in those regions and additional Cross-Region Matchmaking routes for nearby locations.

Performance Improvements

• Following the prior rebuild of the Sloop, Brigantine and Galleon, this update now allows the game client to utilise the system to smooth out how other ships are loaded when approaching them at a distance, stabilising framerates while sailing.

Hit Registration Improvements on Animals

• Players attacking various animals like chickens and pigs with melee attacks will now experience improved hit registration, dealing more consistent damage to targets.

Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage Notifications

• Players who have their Skull of the Banished stolen by a rival crew will no longer be notified with a pop-up notification. This ensures consistency with how stolen items are handled across the wider experience.

The Devil’s Roar Balancing

• Further improvements have been made to volcanoes, ensuring that players caught on an island about to erupt can more predictably plan their escape. After a volcano starts to smoke, the time before it erupts has now been reduced slightly as a result.

Season 17 Community Weekend (August 30th – September 1st)

• Your favourite 48-hour event is back for Season 17! Enjoy free gifts, pose at Picture Walls, solve puzzles as you seek Pop-Up Plunder, and make use of reward boosts thanks to the Community Emissary Grade raised by watching Sea of Thieves streamers on Twitch.

• As a bonus goal to tie in with Rare’s 40th anniversary celebrations, reaching a cumulative community total of World Events completed during Community Weekend will unlock the Ruby Legend Figurehead for everyone.

• Find out more in August’s This Month in Sea of Thieves article, and stay tuned for a full rundown closer to the date!

Gameplay

• Players taking damage soon after healing to full health will no longer find their health bar becomes hidden even though they are not at full health.

• Voyage notes pinned to the ship’s mast now require players to be much closer and facing the note before being able to interact with it, preventing accidental use.

• Skeletons killed by a thrown knife will no longer leave behind an invisible surface that prevents players from attacking enemies behind it.

• Improvements have been made to boarding audio effects to prevent players muffling certain effects when repeatedly attempting to give an item while grabbing the ladder.

• Ships that are beached in shallow waters around islands can now be consistently sunk by rival crews. Once sufficient damage has been dealt to a ship, even if the ship is unable to fill with water, it will be considered sunk and destroyed.

• During a Faction Battle, a ship that is sunk due to heading into the Devil’s Shroud now consistently causes the match to end and loses the encounter.

• Bone piles belonging to the Order of Bone and Blade should no longer appear on lava where they cannot be dug up.

• Ashen Lords in combat will now continue to actively attack players using a nearby cannon.

Followers of the Flame Voyage

• If players are moved to another server during the Followers of the Flame Voyage, the Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons will now continue to behave as expected.

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons revived near the dig site will no longer seem to disappear.

Reaper’s Chests Unsealed

• Unsealed Reaper’s Chests and Chests of Bones that have been depleted will no longer show bones inside the chest.

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons should no longer start following allied players if the unsealed Reaper’s Chest is not nearby.

Cannon of Rage

• Players approaching a deployed Cannon of Rage will now find the interactions have been repositioned to make the weapon easier to load, fire and retract.

• Retracting a Cannon of Rage no longer causes it to briefly disappear.

• Players joining a session in progress should now see deployed Cannons of Rage in their correct state.

Environment

• Improvements have been made to the environment beneath Skeleton Camps to prevent players from using a Grapple Gun to leave the designated area.

• A range of island improvements have been made to prevent players becoming stuck within the environment.

• Mysterious journals found on Crescent Isle should now all be readable.

Visual and Audio

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons now move smoothly when following players or walking while holding weapons.

• When Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons appear, the visual effects now show consistently.

• Dropping a Chest of Bones or Reaper’s Chest no longer causes the audio effect to be heard at extended distances.

• Players will now consistently hear their pirate gasp for breath when resurfacing if they had begun to drown.

• Crews with the Regal Fortune Wheel equipped will now find it appears visually correct after being fully repaired.

• When performing the Grog Shaker Emote, the audio effects can now be heard fully.

• Ancient Phantoms encountered during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage should now consistently have audible voiceover when subtitles are shown.

• The image on the Crate of Immaculate Diamonds now appears at the correct orientation when placed on the ground.

• Players wearing the Oyster’s Prize Eyepatch will now find the eyepatch is hidden when performing a disguise.

• Players’ hands will now appear correctly when performing the Target Hide Emote.

Text and Localisation

• ‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – Players using non-English languages will now find interactions on the Headless Monkey are translated.

• ‘Captains of the Damned’ – Captain Jack Sparrow’s subtitles will now be shown fully when speaking.

• ‘Lords of the Sea’ – The voiceover and subtitles shown during this Tall Tale now match correctly.

• Players using replaced gamertags will now see Half-Stew Jean’s name spelled correctly.

• Players using Russian language settings should now find the Dire Dark Warsmith set name has been changed to better differentiate it from the original Dark Warsmith set.

Performance and Stability

• Further improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.

To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.

Download Size:

• Steam: 2.9 GB

Can you believe it’s been a full month since we last stopped by with a round-up? We hardly could, but our calendars insist upon it which means we’ve got a job to do. A lot of big news arrived throughout July, as well as a game update and a bumper Event, so let’s look back at all the things you may have missed in the last few weeks.

No month would be complete without a Sea of Thieves content update, and in July that meant the final update of Season 16, delivering the second Voyage for The Reaper’s Bones – known as Followers of the Flame – along with an Ashen version of the Search for Ancient Secrets. The update also took a second shot at rolling out a rebalance of Kraken activity. Fingers and tentacles crossed that she behaves a little better this time around.

The animosity between the Pirate Lord’s Legends and Captain Flameheart’s Reapers has been on the rise again recently, culminating in two full weeks of chaos in July! During Legends Unleashed, pirates on both sides of the conflict were tasked with completing Goals to earn gold, reputation, Renown and even a few exclusive Trinkets. And, in case that wasn’t quite enough to keep you occupied, the Compass of Chaos saw a new expansion of prompts based on the latest Season 16 content. Never a dull moment!

July began with the usual This Month in Sea of Thieves article, followed by a lengthy unpicking of something new we’ve decided to embark upon in the spirit of openness: the Sea of Thieves Community Direct! After that came the unveiling of Season 16’s Style of Thieves contest categories – and, later, the names of the fashionable pirates sailing away with a win.

Community creativity also came under the spotlight in a #SoTShot round focused on landmarks and a fresh collection of Community Hub entries, this time with a little SoTFest twist. The community spirit isn’t for everyone, though, is it? With so many celebrations taking place, The Reaper’s Bones were quick to remind everyone that their ruthless approach to piracy was the focus of Season 16, with a substantial guide to the ins and outs of their Company. If you’re looking for the lore on these red and black-clothed reavers, look no further!

We led into July’s monthly update with the usual suspects: an episode of Sea of Thieves News to announce what was coming up, a Developer Update from Drew digging into some of the work already going on behind the scenes, and a trailer or two showing off the new arrivals players could expect to enjoy.

It wasn’t all standard fare, however! As mentioned earlier, July saw our very first Community Direct, in which some familiar faces sat down to discuss the current state of Sea of Thieves and everything we want to accomplish in future. Even more information was to follow in our latest official podcast, focused on Season 16. This gave us a chance to clarify some things touched on in the Community Direct, such as how our new approach to Seasons will incorporate permanent changes to the game world, and whether or not Drew was wearing trousers. All in all, a very enlightening watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKQiiI3ElkU
And with that, we’re at the end of July and our latest round-up! If you have a few more seconds to spare, you’re always welcome to come and find us on social media, including Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Twitch, as well as the official Forums and Discord! You can drop by to send us any feedback you might have, or just stop in to say hi, provided you maintain a respectful distance from our loot pile. No, genuinely, leave it alone. See you there!

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: June 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2025

Welcome to another edition of This Month in Sea of Thieves, and August’s turn to take a star turn in the spotlight. It’s a big month for us here at Rare as the studio’s 40th anniversary swings into focus, and we’ve got a ton of seafaring fun to put the wind in your sails and add spice to your sailing sessions!

It’s a packed few weeks, with not just the anniversary celebrations but a new Season and a couple of exciting events too – so let’s not waste any time getting down to details…

Rare’s 40th Anniversary – from Monday, August 4th

The studio turns 40 years old imminently – so to celebrate, we’ve got a boatload of things to share with fans and players. Starting from August 4th, we’ve organised a suite of Ruby-themed gifts and tie-ins!

For Xbox Game Pass Ultimate players, the sparkling Rare Ruby Emote will be available as an XGPU Perk all the way through to October 4th. The roguish Rare Ruby Hat will also be earnable via Microsoft Rewards, and from August 6th there’ll be huge Pirate Emporium discounts on Sea of Thieves sets inspired by classic Rare titles (see full sale info below).

The free Rare Ruby Eyepatch will be on offer as a celebratory Sea of Thieves login bonus starting from the launch of Season 17 on August 14th and running right through to the September update – and a grab bag of new ruby-tinted Outpost stock will be available to pick up with your in-game gold from the same date.

Rare-inspired cosmetics will also be purchasable in a mega-bundle from August 14th, while the glorious Ruby Reaper’s Mark Sails will be made available as a time-limited Pirate Emporium offering. Meanwhile, the optional Season 17 Plunder Pass will allow players to unlock the classically themed Rare Regalia ship set and clothing as they power through those levels of Seasonal Renown!

There’s also more on offer in Season 17’s Rare-themed Community Weekend – but more on that later…

Pirate Emporium Rare Anniversary Sale – Wednesday, August 6th – Monday, August 11th

A major milestone deserves a major sale, so you can expect a huge range of deals to explore in the Pirate Emporium while this one is live! The Emporium has no shortage of ship sets, costumes, weapons and Trinkets inspired by Rare’s games and characters from the last 40 years, and most if not all of them are part of this special sale. From Bear & Bird to Paradise Garden, Night Wulf to Huntress and everything in between, there’s a look here for everyone to enjoy!

‘Smugglers’ Tide’ Release – Friday, August 8th

The official Sea of Thieves soundtrack that’s streamable and downloadable from your choice of music provider gets another of its regular additions, this time the moody signature music from the upcoming Smuggler-driven Season. Check it out from August 8th, ahead of the Season’s launch a little under a week later…

Gold & Glory Weekend – Friday, August 8th – Monday, August 11th

Our boosted rewards Event beckons players in over the second weekend of the month, giving persistent pirates a perfect opportunity to hit level 100 Renown in Season 16 before it ends! Gold, reputation, Allegiance and Renown will all be boosted for the duration of the Event, so make sure you’re heading out on the waves to make the most of these gains.

Season 17 Launch – Thursday, August 14th

Announced at the Xbox Games Showcase back in June, Smugglers’ Tide finally comes to Sea of Thieves’ shores later this month. With explosive Black Powder Barrels, fresh faces to meet and interact with, Smugglers’ Route Runs and new Deeds, Commendations, rewards and treasures, our smuggling-themed Season is all set to offer pirates new ways to make their fortune.

Stay tuned to Sea of Thieves social channels for more information on what’s to come as part of Season 17’s package.

Pirate Profiles Launch – Thursday, August 14th

Also launching alongside Season 17 are Pirate Profiles, which players will be able to pick up from the Pirate Emporium! For those of you who like the idea of having multiple pirate personas to roleplay with – or if you just fancy taking on new challenges with a fresh-faced pirate (and no worries about overwriting your old one) – you’ll find this feature just the thing to help you scratch that itch.

Season 17 Community Weekend – Saturday, August 30th – Monday, September 1st

Remember a few paragraphs ago, when we mentioned the next Community Weekend? Well, that’s all set to happen nice and early in the Season 17 calendar, with rewards and Pop-Up Plunder both themed to our 40th anniversary milestone. As usual, the Community Emissary Grade will be powered by hours of Sea of Thieves watched on Twitch – with a suite of Twitch Drops on offer for folks tuning in. Picture Walls will return to Outposts with a special ruby-red flavour, with one at The Reaper’s Hideout also back in action for the 48 hours of this Event.

Pirates who pop in during the Weekend will receive two glorious login bonuses: the Season 17 Community Weekend Flag and the Paper Cutout Emote. And, if 100,000 World Events are completed during Community Weekend, a special Ruby Legend Figurehead will be unlocked for all participants. It’s set to be a stunning celebration of all things Rare, so make sure to mark the dates in your diary now to avoid disappointment.

And that’s all for August! We hope to see you on the seas in honour of our studio’s milestone anniversary, and our thanks, as always, to those of you who have set sail with us at any stage of this unforgettable journey.

Alongside things like angry cannons and boxes of bones, Season 16 has introduced the spike-fanatic skeletons known as the Order of Bone and Blade, who are surprisingly helpful despite their getups resembling medieval torture devices. Yes, they are a bit one-note in the clothing department, so now it’s time for you lot to show them that fashion options do extend beyond red and metal for those willing to shop around. To be fair, being buried for an indeterminate amount of time probably isn’t the most lucrative position to be in, and maybe they’d pop a nice hat on if a pirate would just offer them a few coins and a lift to the Outpost…

Anyway, forget that as it’s not those skeletons doing any dressing up, that duty falls to you when Season 16’s #StyleOfThieves contest takes place from July 21st–24th 2025! Will you walk away with one of the 16 pairs of Fashionista’s Finery Gloves up for grabs? Potentially! If you enter, that is. If you don’t enter then it’s a no, but you’re planning to enter, right? Okay good, just checking.

The format of the contest remains unchanged for now: posts relating to this Season’s themes will appear on Sea of Thieves social media channels around 10am UTC on the dates specified below, signalling that the entry period for that day’s contest is open. Your task is then to rummage through your equipment chest and grab a stylish screenshot of your pirate dressed in gear relating to that day’s prompt, trying to stand out from the crowd in the process (that’s the hardest part). To enter, simply take a screenshot or two showing your full outfit (including your boots) and share your entry on your social media channel of choice, stating the name of the theme in your post to help with our team’s judging.

Each theme will be open to entries for 24 hours, after which time our team will create a shortlist of their top entries, carve them into a chocolate mould and use this to create a single bar. Said confectionery directory will then be positioned in direct sunlight before the Art team are told its location, putting them in a race against heat to reach the cocoa catalogue before it melts into a delicious pool of chic corsairs’ broken dreams. Should they get to the list in time, they’ll be able to choose their 16 overall winners for us to reveal on July 31st.

Before we reveal the themes, we’d just like to reiterate that even if you don’t win Style of Thieves, as with all our social media contests, we hope everyone who takes part simply has a good time exploring the fun of fashion within Sea of Thieves. It’s really just a pirate dress-up game when we boil it down, right? So embrace it!

Image credit: banhosabado on X/Twitter

And now, without any more re-re-re-tweaked preamble, here are Season 16’s #StyleOfThieves themes:

Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below, with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for a full 24 hours.

ApocalypticImagine the world has come to an end and, in fiction-established fashion, nobody is making new clothes that don’t come pre-ripped, accessorised with metal or both.
Entry date: July 21st

Debonair
However you said ‘Debonair’ in your head just then, translate that instinctively suave pronunciation into fashion form.
Entry date: July 22nd

MagicalFrom wizards and witches to beings made of magic, put a spell on us with some enchanting attire that says “I could distract you with a card trick while my crewmate nicks your Chest of Legends”.
Entry date: July 23rd

Vibrant
Go against Season 16’s dour style by putting on the brightest colours you can find! Making them match is optional, but encouraged.
Entry date: July 24th

Image credit: nexusgamingv1 on X/Twitter

There are of course rules to follow if you want to create a valid contest entry. For a refresher on these, and how to enter via any of the applicable channels, please navigate back to last Season’s Style of Thieves article – remembering of course that Season 16’s themes are all new! Regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post, along with any extra info called for by the theme.

As an additional stipulation to ensure a level playing field, entries may only use the retail version of Sea of Thieves and not the Insider build, following the lifting of the Insider Programme NDA (see our 2025 Community Direct for more on that).

Bang! And the article’s done. Well, done aside from this rambling final bit. Imagine if we had just ended it on ‘done’, we bet you’d have felt slighted. Not that this paragraph is adding any helpful information to the article. If anything, it’s adding unnecessary fluff, but if there’s anywhere aside from a winter duvet where unnecessary fluff is acceptable, it’s in the final part of a pirate game fashion contest theme announcement article that very few people will read.

If you’re one of the few, we hope this is on the endearing side of things, but only you can be the judge of that. Unlike #StyleOfThieves, which we’ll be the judges of from July 21st–24th! Bosh, effortlessly back on track. See you on the social catwalks!

Set sail on Voyages for The Reaper’s Bones, roll out the Cannon of Rage and enlist Captain Flameheart’s Order of Bone and Blade! To learn more about this Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 16 page.

Followers of the Flame Voyage

• The Reaper’s Bones offer a new on-demand Voyage: Followers of the Flame.

• This Voyage tasks crews with using the Follower’s Flame Lantern to find and resurrect the Order of Bone and Blade and perform a dark ritual to create the new Chest of Bones.

• Embarking on all Voyages for The Reaper’s Bones will automatically raise a Reaper’s Mark Flag on the ship, announcing your location to other crews via their Map Table.

Chest of Bones

• Once recovered from the ritual, the Chest of Bones can also be unsealed to release waves of Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons to aid the crew.

• The Chest of Bones will release fewer skeletons than its more powerful Reaper’s Chest counterpart, and does not contain Skeleton Captains.

Ashen Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage

• The Reaper’s Bones Voyages have now expanded into The Devil’s Roar, introducing an Ashen Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage that offers higher-value rewards for venturing into the flames.

• The Order of Bone and Blade are now helpfully immune to damage from geysers.

Reaper’s Chest Balancing

• The skeleton waves released when unsealing a Reaper’s Chest on a rival ship now dynamically scale to the size of the ship. A Sloop will be limited to two skeletons, three on a Brigantine and four on a Galleon.

• A Reaper’s Chest unsealed in any other location or when used defensively on a player’s own ship will use the existing limit of six.

• The appearance of Skeleton Captains has also been limited, with a total of four now able to be released from a single Reaper’s Chest. When a Skeleton Captain has appeared, no further Captains can be summoned until it has been dispatched.

Stealing the Search for Ancient Secrets

• It is now possible for rival crews to steal the Skull of the Banished during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage.

• Once the sarcophagus has been discovered by the crew on the Voyage, rival crews can now continue digging, open the sarcophagus and take the skull for themselves. This promptly ends the Voyage for the starting crew and grants their rivals progress towards the Reaper Rivals Commendation.

Skeleton Mercenary Improvements

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeleton Mercenaries now show a status tag next to their name, visually showing what they are doing when viewed at a distance. Players can now also see clearly when a Skeleton Mercenary has been downed and needs reviving.

• When a buried Skeleton Mercenary is uncovered by a pirate, the other members of the crew will now be notified of the discovery.

Reapers Rising Commendations and Rewards

• New Reapers Rising Commendations have been added within the Reputation tab, tasking players with taking on the Followers of the Flame Voyage. Crews who brave this challenge can unlock access to a set of Reaper’s Bones Masks.

The Devil’s Roar Rebalancing

• The Devil’s Roar has been rebalanced to reduce frustration while adventuring in this region, but still retains the atmosphere and risk that comes from sailing in such a dangerous part of the seas.

• Geysers that appear on islands should no longer directly target players, and the number of them that surface is now scaled to the size of the crew exploring the island.

• Volcanoes now signal their eruption for a longer time, allowing players more time to react.

• A live volcano now erupts for a shorter time before subsiding, and while erupting the chance that nearby ships will be hit with volcanic rocks has been reduced.

Responsive Health Bar Improvements

• The UI health bar has been improved to be more responsive during combat. Players taking damage and healing will now see the health bar move to the new health value much more quickly.

• Players with critically low health will now consistently see their health bar switch to green when they gain enough health to move out of the critical zone.

• After healing fully, a player’s health bar now remains visible for a longer period before being hidden.

Kraken Encounter Balancing

• Kraken encounters can now occur on a server alongside some other World Events such as Skeleton Forts. While the frequency of Kraken encounters will remain the same following this change, it allows other World Events to cycle more frequently.

Performance Improvements

• This update includes a system-level optimisation to CPU performance across the broad experience, to reduce the frequency of framerate drops and provide a smoother framerate during gameplay.

Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Bosun Brewmaster Ship Collection and Ship’s Crest

• Bosun Brewmaster Weapon Bundle

• Bosun Brewmaster Costume

• Bosun Brewmaster Tankard

• Touring Tavern Emote Bundle

• Ashen Curse Toucan Collector’s Pet

• Sting Tide Weapon Bundle

New Outpost Stock!

• The Outpost shops now stock the Golden Chaser equipment and instruments.

• The shipwrights have also restocked with the new Green Resolute Hull, Sails and Flag.

Legends Unleashed (July 17th–31st)

• This lengthy Event sees the Pirate Lord rally his Pirate Legends against the growing Reaper threat, with a comeback by The Reaper’s Bones in the second week. Increased loot payouts, special Event Goals and unlockable rewards are all available. Visit the dedicated Legends Unleashed page to find out more.

• In addition to the time-limited aspects of this Event, Athena’s Fortune now offer three new Legendary searches which will remain as permanent additions to the Quest Table. These are A Legendary Treasure Map Search, A Legendary Riddle Quest Search and A Legendary Skeleton Bounty Search.

• These Voyages provide a shorter experience and therefore less risk than the existing Athena’s Fortune Voyages, providing reduced rewards in comparison to their more perilous counterparts.

• Athena’s Fortune Letters of Recommendation can now be purchased from Larinna, providing a boost to reputation each month. These will remain a permanent addition after this Event.

Gameplay

• Storage Crates found through Skeleton’s Orders can now be sold to the Merchant Alliance as intended.

• Players stowing a throwing knife while charging a stab attack will find the stab is now cancelled.

• Treasure harpooned from the water can now be consistently picked up from the deck.

• Improvements have been made to the Ashen Executive’s Lost Shipment Voyage, addressing issues where the location of the shipwreck, Captain’s Key and Manifest were appearing inconsistently during the Voyage, halting progress.

• A Grapple Gun can no longer be used to drag the Key or Chest of Siren Song into The Reaper’s Hideout.

• Restoring a ship at the shipwright should no longer cause the ship’s wheel to spin rapidly.

• Players attempting to grab on to a ladder while using a spyglass should no longer find the vignette effect lingers.

• Players are now prevented from selling a hunting spear while attempting to throw it.

• Attempting to throw a hunting spear and crouching should no longer cause controller vibration effects to persist.

• Attempting to grapple the Key or Chest of Siren Song while standing inside an Outpost tavern no longer causes the Grapple Gun to become stuck while firing.

• ‘The Revenge of the Morningstar’ – Items dropped on Graymarrow’s altar during this Tall Tale will no longer vanish unexpectedly.

Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage

• Ancient Phantoms no longer flicker into view when moving through other enemies.

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons should now move correctly when digging out the Ancient Pillars.

• Players should consistently be provided with the Skull of the Banished when retrieving it from the sarcophagus.

• The fog effects visible on this Voyage now appear correctly for other crews observing at a distance.

Cannon of Rage

• A player loaded into a Cannon of Rage will now be removed if it is retracted by another player.

• Players will now be prevented from climbing into a Cannon of Rage while it is being deployed.

• A retracted Cannon of Rage will no longer block cannonball damage when fired upon.

• The Cannon of Rage no longer consumes loaded cannonballs when being retracted.

• Cannons of Rage now consistently display the fuse after being buried and dug up.

• The overheating effect on Cannons of Rage now transitions more smoothly between stages.

• A damaged Cannon of Rage will now visibly swell while overheating, even after being retracted.

Reaper’s Chests Unsealed

• Skeletons released from a Reaper’s Chest at an Outpost now move consistently to keep up with their crew.

• Skeletons emerging from Reaper’s Chests will now consistently show their nameplates.

• Reaper’s Chests now emit a bone-rattling sound when sealed.

• Leaving the area of an unsealed Reaper’s Chest and returning no longer causes the lid to reappear.

• The red glow inside the enhanced Reaper’s Chest now displays properly when other players are holding it.

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons released at The Reaper’s Hideout will now be able to descend into the lower areas if the chest is taken down on the lift.

Skeleton Mercenaries

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeleton Mercenaries now thank players when revived from their bone piles.

• Skeleton Mercenaries engaging in combat should no longer drop items into areas they cannot reach themselves.

• Skeleton Mercenaries now appear closer to their bone piles when revived.

• Skeletons now appear to move correctly after dropping an item.

• Long grass should no longer cover bone piles, hiding Skeleton Mercenaries.

Environment

• Improvements have been made to the environment at Port Merrick, Dagger Tooth Outpost and Shark Bait Cove to address crews using these locations to hide their ship and shelter from attacks during Faction battles.

• Improvements have been made to the environment during the ‘The Lair of LeChuck’, ‘Shores of Gold’ and ‘A Pirate’s Life’ Tall Tales to prevent players from using a Grapple Gun to leave the designated areas.

• Players can no longer use the Cannon of Rage to bypass the doors to Skeleton Forts, the Fort of the Damned or Glitterbeard’s Cave.

• Players should no longer be able to retrieve items from the Fort of the Damned using a Grapple Gun without first unlocking the Vault.

• Players can no longer fall out of the environment by using the Grapple Gun to navigate within Ancient Vaults.

• Players can no longer pass through Royal Crest Fortress’ ceiling by interacting with the Map Table on a different floor.

Visual and Audio

• Several shovels that were missing dig visual effects now show the correct effects.

• Players carrying Mermaid Gems in various lighting conditions will now find their glare has been reduced.

• Players wearing the Spinal Costume should no longer find it intersects with various disguises.

• The Gilded Phoenix Hurdy-Gurdy now has the instrument’s keys in the correct location.

• Using a disguise while wearing the Regal Fortune Boots should now correctly show the player’s feet.

• Female pirates equipping the Skeleton Curse and Reaper’s Bones Skull will now retain their skull shape.

• Players wearing the Veil of the Ancients Costume should no longer find the gems react too brightly to sunlight.

• Performing a stab with a throwing knife should now consistently show the knife at the correct orientation.

• The Dashing Duellist Banjo and Blowpipe now fit correctly in a pirate’s hands when wielded.

• The Lamplighter Pistol now fits correctly in a pirate’s hands when wielded.

• ‘A Pirate's Life’ – Ghost pirates now appear as intended at key parts of the Tall Tale.

User Interface

• The front-end intro video now appears correctly when playing without visible black borders.

• Event times shown on the Quest Table are now shown in players’ local time instead of UTC.

• Players using a Trident of Dark Tides for the first time will no longer see a ‘Refill Ammo’ notification after firing.

• Maps shown in the Quest Radial will now consistently show their icon in the even if the map owner dies and returns from the Ferry of the Damned.

• Attempting to sell a Bounty Skull to Flameheart now correctly guides players to the right hand-in location.

• Players navigating between the title screen and front-end menu should now hear music at a consistent volume.

Performance and Stability

• Further improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.

To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.

The sweltering press of July is upon us, which means we have one last thing to do before we let June pass over the horizon: round up everything you might have missed! But this time we’re doing a little streamlining to your regular round-up, focusing on just the best bits and taking up no more of your time than we need to. So with that in mind, please take your seat, prepare your eyes and get reading…

June’s free monthly content update (following a cheeky hotfix) introduced another mix of features, Events, fixes and cosmetics, most notably enabling players to unseal Reaper’s Chests for the very first time. Just as everyone was adapting to the new friends they gained as a result, our Events team sailed in with a Gold & Glory Weekend and a full week’s worth of Fight Nights! Once again, pirates across the seas would battle to the death to win increased Allegiance, exclusive Trinkets and that all-important glory.

And of course June was Pride Month, always an important time for Sea of Thieves, and our latest updates reflected that: we were thrilled to be able to introduce the Progress Pride Flag to the seas for broader player representation, while real-world Pride-themed items made a time-limited return to the Xbox Gear Shop!

We started the month, as always, with a preview of everything that players could expect in June, followed a week later by something we hadn’t mentioned: a sneak peek at Season 17 during the Xbox Games Showcase. Before we get to August and the arrival of Smugglers’ Tide, however, there’s plenty to be getting on with – including the reopening of Affiliate Alliance applications. If you think your Sea of Thieves community could benefit from becoming part of the programme, give the guidelines a read!

June’s Community Spotlight zeroed in on singing completionist EliEelEye, while two rounds of Community Hub entries and two #SoTShot categories – Chaotic Captures and Stunning Skeletons – saw community creatives claiming some coveted cosmetics. And we couldn’t end June without one last salute to Pride Month 2025, guest-written by one of our new Affiliate Alliance communities, The Pride Brigade.

We were also lucky enough to land a couple of wins for Sea of Thieves at the MCV Develop Awards in London later in the month, for Ongoing Innovation of the Year and Accessibility Innovation of the Year. An honour! Now, back to keeping that ongoing content coming as we set up those highly explosive new barrels the Smugglers may have mentioned…

The reveal of Season 17 wouldn’t have been much fun without a trailer, and that was by no means June’s only trailer: a new monthly content update necessitated its own Update Trailer, as well as a showcase of the latest Pirate Emporium stock. Trailer fans must surely have been beside themselves.

But there were still some of the usual suspects to unveil: Sea of Thieves News laid out what to expect from the June update while divulging details of the upcoming Pirate Profiles, and a few days later, June’s Developer Update shared some of our behind-the-scenes thinking and priorities moving forwards. And finally, we couldn’t let the masterful musical melodies of Season 16 go underappreciated, so ‘The Ancient Pillars’ made its streaming soundtrack debut for pirates to enjoy to their hearts’ content!

https://youtu.be/vHLhi7RJx1Y?si=ejacjttvsk9f5-LyAnd as promised, that’s your trimmed-down round-up. There’ll be plenty more to talk about throughout July, so be sure to keep an eye on all our usual social channels – Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Twitch, as well as the official Forums and Discord – and drop any thoughts and feedback there. Until we see you again, happy sailing and don’t forget to have fun!

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2025

Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2025

Today saw the broadcast of our very first Community Direct, a long-form sit down with key crew members to discuss all things Sea of Thieves over the next six months or so. Covering game health, upcoming changes to the Insider Programme, our evolving approach to Seasons and more, it was also an opportunity to reveal an incredibly exciting premium feature coming to Sea of Thieves’ shores in early 2026: custom servers.

Your host, Head of Video Production John McMurtrie, was joined by Head of Community and Communications Christina McFairholme, Associate Design Director Shelley Preston, Creative Director Mike Chapman and Production Director Drew Stevens to talk through all of the above and more. If you’ve got 51 minutes to spare, you can watch the Direct in full below. But if you can’t watch right now, we’ve compiled the key takeaways right here in this handy article!

Before the gang got into what to expect from Sea of Thieves moving forward, there was some reflection on the last few Seasons. Our last major content releases brought a significant focus on enriching the sandbox; player feedback we’d received last year pointed to the sandbox being perhaps in need of reinvigoration with new tools and opportunities, and the last few Seasons of content worked towards this with a plethora of new ways to play.

We’ve also been making a concerted effort to provide more detail and context to our players via the reintroduction of the Developer Update, a video series now fronted by Production Director Drew Stevens. This has proved a great vehicle for us to talk about things in a more transparent and reactive manner, and we’ve been heartened by the response. We’re also planning to deliver a Community Direct every six months as part of this openness with our community – so expect another sit-down with the crew early next year.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been room for improvement; we know we haven’t hit the mark our players were hoping for in terms of game health and performance, especially when it comes to being reactive to cheating and the game experience on PC. We’re also cognisant that we could be more attuned to the desires and experiences of our player base, and we’ll be working hard to remedy this in future. We’ve learned a lot from the past year, and we’re ready to put those insights into action.

The partnership we have with our players is incredibly important to us, as is taking on board feedback that doesn’t just help us shape a feature but define it in the first instance. This is why we’re taking the bold step to lift the NDA from the Sea of Thieves Insider Programme. We want to inspire more conversation at scale about what we’re up to and how we can improve the experience. This means that while players will still have to register to be an Insider, they will be able to talk openly about the Insider build – as well as stream and capture it.

This is only the first step in opening us up to more community input, as starting from next Season we’re also planning a Seasonal Big Listen with our Insider Programme members. We’ll be asking how you found the content we’ve recently released, and more broadly how you’re finding the whole package: performance, cheaters, bugs, enjoyability and more. This will allow us to better track sentiment over time and identify gaps for content that addresses a desire or opportunity within our current feature set. And, of course, in line with this focus on transparency, we’ll share the results of these surveys with you, our players.

We’re also working on relaunching the Insider Programme in 2026 to make it more engaging and rewarding for participants. This reboot will fold in a number of different community programmes and make the Insider Programme a home and a hub for our most engaged players to get the most out of their playtime.

Another thing that we’ve heard our players are missing is consistency in our worldbuilding endeavours, and we’ll be striving to renew our focus on the story of the Sea of Thieves to satisfy different player motivations. We appreciate that we’ve allowed the momentum of the story to slow down as we focused on the sandbox, but looking ahead, we plan on having a much better balance of narrative and features – as well as including story beats within a Season, rather than just at the start.

We’re crafting a new structure for the team to allow us to deliver across all these areas. While dedicated teams already exist for Seasons, Pirate Emporium and Game Health, we've committed to expanding our Game Health team to ensure we continue improving the core playability and stability of the main game, alongside introducing new experiences. These teams are now set up and ready to go, with some improvements already in the bag and being enjoyed by our players.

We’re also changing the way think about our Seasonal content, as well as how we deliver it through a three-month period. We want players to always have something new to look forward to throughout a Season – and when we've released the majority of the content at the beginning of the Season, that hasn’t always been the case. So we’re committing to a clearer structure that means there will be a predictable rhythm of play to each Season, that looks a little like this:

Month 1: more sandbox features and worldbuilding setup

Month 2: headline live Event, upscaled and expanded with lore elements

Month 3: ‘call to action’ moment for players, revisiting and revitalising sandbox content

This comes on top of our existing live Events: we will now always run a Community Weekend in the first month of a Season, and a Gold & Glory in the last month to ensure players have an opportunity to catch up if they’ve struggled to find game time.

This shift does require a transitionary period to put into practice though, and as a result we will not be running a Community Weekend for Season 16. However, Season 17’s Community Weekend will land early in August to ensure you don’t go too long without that Community Emissary Grade multiplier goodness!

Season 17

Those of you who caught the Xbox Games Showcase trailer will have learned that the upcoming Season is all about The Smugglers’ League, a band of pirates new to the Sea of Thieves’ shores. The first month of the Season will introduce this ragtag bunch and key features like smugglers’ hideouts, new loot types and Smugglers’ Runs.

Month 2 will bring a headline live Event in the form of a heist, while Month 3 refreshes the Skeleton Fort experience – a feature that’s remained unchanged for some time. A Community Weekend celebrating Rare’s 40th anniversary will land at the very beginning of the Season, and Gold & Glory near the end will offer that all-important catch-up moment before Season 18 kicks off. You can also expect all the usual Seasonal rewards, Twitch Drops, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks and more as we roll out a suite of cool stuff to get involved in.

We can’t wait to show you more of what to expect of Season 17, so stay tuned for more details on what players will be facing from August onwards!

It wouldn’t be a Sea of Thieves broadcast without a little bit of Sea of Tease – and so our Community Direct took a quick dip into what players can expect from Season 18. With a focus on The Devil’s Roar, this Season promises to boost Emissary play along with general activity in the region. New Ancient Shrines and expanded Smugglers’ League gameplay will form part of this, as well as a thrilling headline Event…

But more on that later – for now, it’s time to talk about the much-requested community feature we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

We recognise that Sea of Thieves, at its heart, is about player storytelling – and so over the past year we have been developing a brand new toolset designed to unleash community creativity. These Custom Server features will be available to players in early 2026 as part of a new subscription model, and will come with a whole host of other benefits as part of the premium package.

Custom Servers will offer a range of different features, including a private customisable sandbox. With switches, toggles and commands to curate the server experience, subscribers will be able to do things such as spawn enemies and loot on command, turn off AI enemies and ensure that the environment is fit for whatever shenanigans they want to set up.

They’ll also be able to run Safer Seas Fleets, filling a server full of friends and larking about to their heart’s content, all while earning rewards at the same levels available in the solo version of Safer Seas. And finally, a cinematic camera will offer players a toolset similar to that used by our very own Video team when they’re putting together those beautiful gameplay trailers.

Although this subscription service is landing next year, we’ve taken the decision to announce it nice and early so that our Partners and creative communities can start making plans sooner rather than later. We want to build this toolset in partnership with the community, and running it as a subscription model means that we can ensure ongoing investment into and development of Custom Servers as a platform.

We can’t wait to get this feature into players’ hands and build a toolset that empowers all facets of Sea of Thieves’ player base – creative, competitive or otherwise – to craft even more amazing experiences that they can share with their communities.

Custom Servers will of course fall outside the Seasonal team’s delivery of regular in-game content, and that’s an area of focus for us moving forward too. There’s a dedicated team looking at bigger projects and opportunities beyond Seasons, and how we can deliver these features alongside our Seasonal releases. This resource will look at things like our core progression system, the Pirate Legend experience, community storytelling, ship overhauls, world updates and other areas of this scale and ambition.

We’ll share more about our focuses in this space when we’re ready, but we’ve set up our team structure in a way that now allows us to more elegantly deliver different types of content alongside one another, rather than having to sacrifice something in one area for the sake of another. We think this is the best way to keep Sea of Thieves feeling fresh and giving players lots of different things to look forward to.

If you got this far through the article, congratulations! It’s been quite the whirlwind of information, so thanks for staying with us. We’d love to hear what you think of our plans for the months ahead, so please head over to our social channels or our Discord server to share your thoughts – we try our best to read all your comments, and we want to make sure that we keep an open dialogue on how our designs are landing with players.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about what’s to come for Sea of Thieves, and we’re looking forward to sharing more detail on what we’ve discussed as these features get closer to release. And, of course, we’ll see you in around six months’ time for another Community Direct to dive deep into the next wave of exciting plans!

Welcome to another month of Sea of Thieves plans, events and revelry! There’s plenty of action headed your way as Sea of Thieves advances into July with all sails unfurled. So grab a cuppa and your diary as we take a good look at the line-up…
 
Community Direct – Thursday, July 10th

It's been a while since we sat down and shared our plans for Sea of Thieves, so we thought: we should do that soon. And we are! On July 10th, join Head of Video Production John McMurtrie, Head of Community and Communications Christina McFairholme, Associate Design Director Shelley Preston, Creative Director Mike Chapman and Production Director Drew Stevens as they talk about upcoming Seasons, big Insider Programme changes and a much-requested feature that’s recently been ticking away in development.

You’ll be able to watch our debut Community Direct via YouTube Premiere on the Sea of Thieves YouTube channel, or live on our official Twitch channel – so be sure to subscribe for the all-important notification when we go live.

Pirate Emporium Staff Picks Sale – Thursday, July 10th – Tuesday, July 15th

This month’s Emporium sale is a precursor to Rare’s anniversary celebrations, featuring some of the team’s favourite sets and stellar specials! Our bold Pirate Emporium squad canvassed the studio to arrive at the selection featured in this sale. From the ever-popular Lodestar set to the irresistible Pocket Crab Emote, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to browse this bucketload of bargains.


July Monthly Update – Thursday, July 17th

The third and final content update of this Season introduces Followers of the Flame, another new Voyage for The Reaper’s Bones, that sends crews in search of a new kind of Reaper’s Chest with enchanted items leading the way. The Pirate Emporium is also expecting an influx of new stock, including the Bosun Brewmaster set for true tavern aficionados and the darkly delightful Ashen Curse Toucan.

July’s inbound Outpost stock includes the Green Resolute Hull, Flag and Sails, plus the glorious Golden Chaser equipment and instruments. And, as is now customary, a new Voyage of Luck awaits all pirates who jump in to enjoy this latest free update.

Legends Unleashed Event – Thursday, July 17th – Thursday, July 31st

It’s not just a content update going live on July 17th – once the game is back up from maintenance, Legends Unleashed also kicks off! This Event will last for a fortnight, rallying the patrons of Athena’s Fortune against the rise of the Reapers. There’ll be Athena’s Fortune reputation and gold boosts, Daily Goals offering additional payouts, emergent Legendary Message in a Bottle Voyages (with a Trinket reward for completing three) and the possibility of Ashen Mega Stashes once again appearing in Fort Vaults.

Week two of the Event will bring the Reapers’ resurgence, complete with their own themed Daily Goals and boosts on Athena’s Fortune treasure delivered to The Reaper’s Hideout (with another unlockable Trinket for doing so). For a real payout, any Athena’s Fortune Emissary Flags captured and handed in will be worth 10 times the usual amount!

Shorter Athena’s Fortune Voyages and Letters of Recommendation from Larinna will also be introduced with this Event, becoming a permanent feature of the game – so there’s ample opportunity down the line to raise your standing as a Pirate Legend, or attain that lofty goal if you haven’t already.

Twitch Drops – Friday, July 18th – Friday, July 25th

Tune in to any Sea of Thieves streaming Partner during this week to unlock more Twitch Drop treasures. This set of Drops features some fan favourites including the Shuffle Dance Emote and Rising Morningstar Trousers, as well as a Raid on a Dark Fortress Voyage, the brand new Amethyst Mercenary Jacket and more. Stay tuned for the full suite of swag and info on how to earn it all later in the month.

Drops are available by linking your accounts and watching any Sea of Thieves Partner on Twitch for the required amount of time. If you’re not sure who to watch, check our Partner Directory to see who’s online and available to tune in to once those Drops go live!

Season 16 Style of Thieves – Monday, July 21st – Thursday, July 24th

Of course, no Season is complete without a fashion-focused Style of Thieves contest, and that time is almost upon us once again. Show us your best fits on our social channels during this entry period dated above, with a heads-up on this Season’s themes arriving a little earlier to help you get planning! We look forward to seeing all your snazzy outfits and giving away more pairs of the coveted Fashionista’s Finery Gloves.

Sails of Bonded Brawlers – throughout Season 16

July will be the last full month to get the free Sails of Bonded Brawlers, a set of beautiful blue sheets designed in honour of Sea of Thieves’

launch on Battle.net® alongside Season 16. Just log in at least once before Season 17 kicks off to find these in your Ship Customisation Chest.

Although it’s not our own event, we must also give an honourable mention to SoTFest 2025 taking place this month: we hope everyone making their way to the UK for this fantastic fan event has a wonderful time, and we have a strong Rare contingent turning up to enjoy the vibes and participate in a few panels. So for those of you going, we’ll see you there!

That’s all for now, but we look forward to seeing you here this time next month where we’ll be ready to talk about everything happening in August – which will of course include the beginning of Season 17. Get your sneakiest outfits at the ready, crew, we’re going smuggling…