May 9

Longvinter - R2

April Recap and New Plans for Moving Forward

Hi everyone! Hopefully you are having a great spring! I'm going straight to the point about what today's devlog is all about. We want to keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes and what will be happening next.

Cheaters

We are very aware of and share your frustration with cheaters, and we want to solve this issue as well. We have decided to add an anti-cheat solution back into the game, but before we can do that, we need to upgrade our engine version. This is not a small task but a necessary one to bring Longvinter forward and make it last for another 4 years. This upgrade will also enable us to add DLSS and the newest FSR upscalers to our game so we can have better image quality for low-end systems. We will be implementing this shift in update 1.1.

Update 1.1

We have now confirmed that the next update will feature pets you can have while traveling the Longvinter island. We will be sharing more about pets later, but here is a little sneak peek at what our artists have been working on!

Leveling System for Items

We have also been planning to add a completely new feature to the game in the form of item levels! Levels would affect items' values, and the higher the level, the better the item would be. For example, a level 1 Assault Rifle does only 3 damage, a level 5 Assault Rifle does 4 damage, and a level 10 does 5 damage. We are still working out the details and specifics of this system, but we want to hear your thoughts about it!

Comment to the post or let us hear your thoughts on Longvinter's Discord!

Last 2 Weeks to Earn Tackle Boxes

We also want to announce that tackle box drops will stop on May 23rd in preparation for the next one, so now is your last chance to earn tackle boxes.

May 9

Season 15’s Style of Thieves Theme Reveal!

Sea of Thieves: 2025 Edition - a-faddison

Season 15 has been one filled with balance. For all the monstrous maws of Ancient Megalodons, there were seagulls added to accompany your sway across the waves. As ferocious wild boars arrived to send many a pirate to the Ferry of the Damned, new fishing Voyages invited a relaxing session, assuming someone else didn’t fancy your fish. Then the Kraken must have felt a bit left out and unexpectedly started attacking every ship it saw (we calmed it down, don’t worry), so how about we try to have a civilised fashion contest to balance that?

Yep, you read the headline correctly (assuming you read the headline), #StyleOfThieves returns for its Season 15 sashay and it’s happening from May 12th–15th! Pirates of all walks are invited to embrace the swathes of cosmetics at their disposal for a spot of dress-up in the name of fun, fashion and, for 16 lucky winners, a new pair of gloves.

Maintaining the same course as its recent iterations, 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 couture contest is open. Your task, as the highly fashionable filibusters you are, is to the show us your pirate dressed in a manner that responds to the day’s prompt, trying to stand out from the crowd in the process. How do you show us? Simple, just take screenshots displaying your full outfit and share them on your social media channel of choice (details below), stating the name of the theme with your screenshot to help with our team’s judging.

Each theme will be open to entries for 24 hours, after which time our team will scour the corners of the internet (well, the advertised avenues for entries on the internet) and pull together a shortlist of their favourite fits. These will then be hidden in a secret room within a shifting mansion that was recently left to us by an eccentric benefactor, with a member of the Art team tasked with solving the house’s secrets in order to locate the list. Assuming they manage this and don’t get stuck in a closet for the rest of eternity, they’ll choose their 16 overall winners for us to reveal on May 21st.

Before we get to the themes, we’d just like to reiterate a necessary reminder: 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. Who knows, you may find the perfect fit for your pirate’s next adventure!

And now, without any more re-tweaked preamble, here are Season 15’s #StyleOfThieves themes:

The 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.

Hunter
Dress for the catch you want, not the catch you have! Unless the catch you have is a huge, ferocious monster, in which case you’re probably ready to pose for a screenshot already. Just clean your hands first, please.
Entry date: May 12th

Duvet Day
Even pirates need the occasional rest day, so pay homage to the amicable skive by donning the comfiest trousers and baggiest top you can find! Even if the closest available thing to a sofa is two wooden planks, you can still recline on it looking appropriately ready for nothing.
Entry date: May 13th

Regal
Magnificent. Dignified. Two words we’d find very hard to apply to the vast majority of pirates we meet on the Sea of Thieves, but very much the expectation for the entries in this theme, so… good luck!
Entry date: May 14th

Monstrous
If your outfit doesn’t naturally cause you to snarl and snap at passers-by, it probably needs a few more teeth, gnarly accessories, dark hues or a combination of all three.
Entry date: May 15th

Image credit: TippToppHansiI on X/Twitter

How to Enter

Now into the part of the article that’s the same every time, including the sentence you’re reading now (but with one new point!). We’re all over social media channels, in a friendly ‘enter however you feel comfortable’ kind of way, so you’re free to submit on a variety of channels. That said, each comes with its own quirks you need to adhere to as follows:

To enter on X/Twitter, make sure you include @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves in your post.
For Instagram, you just need to post using #StyleOfThieves. Same goes for Bluesky and Threads.
Add your entry as a reply to that day’s theme post on Facebook.
Post your entry with #StyleOfThieves in the #pirate-fashion channel of our official Discord server.

And 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.

Rules of the Runway

We’ve put together some handy hints and rules to make sure you capture your pirate’s best side and don’t accidentally enter an ineligible picture:

No Costumes on the catwalk – we want to see your creativity and individuality in how you mix and match items, so no all-in-one Costumes.
Complete cosmetic sets are not permitted. Our artists designed those items to go together and, again, we want to see stylish creativity. Ideally, an outfit should contain no more than four items from the same named set, but as long as creativity from multiple styles is evident then your outfit will be accepted.
Unless a theme calls for it, all shots should be solo pirates and not crews. Only the pirate(s) in the picture will be eligible for the prize.
Find a simple or plain background to pose against to let your outfit pop. Backgrounds and locations will not be considered when judging the outfit.
Lighting helps, so find a well-lit spot to fully peacock your picks. Coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered part of the outfit, and could hurt your chances of consideration.
Toggle off your HUD for a clean snap and avoid a name getting in the way! If you haven’t set it, the Toggle HUD command can be assigned to a button from the HUD category of the Keyboard and Mouse or Controller area of your Settings menu.
Screenshots should be a reflection of the game – no external editing or filters should be applied.
Please try to keep your submissions to a 16:9 or 1:1 ratio, making sure your entire outfit is in shot, including your shoes/toes! This will help us when framing winners, and ensures a degree of parity when comparing submissions.
While you may use any emotes for your shot, any features added to the outfit via the emote (e.g. oars, weapons, sparklers) won’t be taken into consideration as part of an outfit during judging.
One shortlist will be compiled per theme, using entries across all platforms, meaning it’s not necessary to post your submission to all channels. If you make sure you use the correct tags, we will see it! Please note that we will only shortlist one costume per user per theme.
While we don’t dissuade pirates from posting multiple entries on a single theme, if we spot a user sharing an excessive number of entries, they will be at risk of being considered ineligible for that theme through this unsportsmanlike behaviour.
The unique prize means you can’t win more than once in Style of Thieves, but you’re more than welcome to continue entering for the fun of it!

Image credit: JoseteAlm on X/Twitter

And that’s another article in the bag. Not actually in a bag of course, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to read these words. In a more literal universe you’ll be looking at this webpage and all that will be here is an image of an inaccessible satchel, so be sure to have a think today about how lucky you are to be in this universe, able to enjoy such an unnecessary closing paragraph.

Yes, fashion, May 12th–15th, looking forward to seeing what you find. Ta-ra!

May 9

What's Coming to Tales of Seikyu at Early Access?

Tales of Seikyu - Bridie

Goodness, we’re excited about our Early Access launch! In case you missed our announcement, you’ll be pleased to know that Tales of Seikyu will launch in Steam Early Access on the 21st of May 2025. It’s not long now until you’ll be boarding the boat to Seikyu! \(0^◇^0)/

If you haven’t already gathered by now, we’re real big on sharing as much information with our community as possible! We want you to know what to expect at Early Access and what’s coming in updates throughout our Early Access journey and as we approach 1.0. We’ve been working very hard on bringing the magical world of Seikyu to life, and we can’t wait for you to see everything we’ve worked on so far. As a reminder, Tales of Seikyu will be launching in Early Access, which means we’re still working hard on making Tales of Seikyu the very best it can be based on your wonderful feedback. So, please let us know what you think! Now, without further ado, let’s take a look…

What’s Coming to Tales of Seikyu at Early Access!

Story Chapter One: Experience the first chapter of your Seikyu story, explore the countryside, and take part in early-game quests (with more coming in subsequent updates).
First 3x Yokai Forms: Each with their own unique powers. From the powerful boar and aquatic slime all the way to the soaring tengu. We’ll be refining these yokai powers throughout Early Access for even more mythical might!
Heart Events with 6 villagers: Love is in the air. Build your relationships up to level 4 with Nyotengu, Hephaestus, Musashi, Liliana, Yohji, and Anna. More romanceable villagers on the way!
40+ Seeds/Crops: Featuring seasonal growth mechanics!
Farm Expansions: With so many crops to grow, you’re gonna want to buy some new plots of land to farm on. We’d love your feedback on farming, as we know this is an area many of you enjoy, so please tell us what you think when you try it at Early Access.
Puzzles: Rumour has it that there are spirits deep within the fox ruins who offer puzzles to only the most worthy of yokai.
Casino & Tavern: Help bring a little excitement to Seikyu by building new businesses for the community! We’ll be working on adding new features for community buildings such as these, so if there’s something you want to see, make sure to let us know.
50+ Recipes: Cook crops, foraged items, and fish into delicious recipes! Eat them yourself for unique buffs or gift them to villagers (just remember that not everybody’s tastes are the same).
100+ Pieces of Furniture: Whether you prefer cute and cozy or a traditional Eastern aesthetic, there’s something for everyone.
Furniture & Clothing Customisation: Express yourself through your clothes and home! We’re also making a point of asking the community what they’d like to see in terms of new outfits and customisations over on our social media channels, so make sure to follow us on X and Bluesky to take part.
Boss Battles: Go head-to-head with the first two bosses. Let’s hope your combat training with Nyotengu pays off! We know there’s still work to be done on polishing the combat experience and we’d love your feedback on how this feels at Early Access so that we know what to improve on the road to 1.0.
Carp Festival: Seikyu’s spring festival, with fun activities and good vibes. We want to make the festivals of Seikyu truly magical, and we’d love your feedback on what else you’d like to see at these community events.
Language Localization: Tales of Seikyu will be available in English, German, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese at Early Access launch. If you spot any localisations that you think need adjusting or wording differently, please let us know so we can correct them. We’ll be adding more languages throughout our Early Access journey.

Coming Throughout Our Early Access Journey or at 1.0

There’s so much more coming to Tales of Seikyu throughout our Early Access journey, and we plan to deliver fresh content and features in batches across our various updates. We’ll keep sharing information and announcements with you the community and we’ll do our best to let you know which features are coming with which updates.

More Story Chapters & Quests: From chapter 2 and beyond, we’ll be fleshing out the story of Tales of Seikyu and adding plenty more quests.
New Yokai Transformations: With their own unique abilities.
Romance: Even more romanceable NPCs and additional heart events.
Marriage: For when you’re ready to take things to the next level.
Customisations: Hair styles, hair colour, skin tones, and more!
Pets: Maybe now you’ll finally stop joking that Kon is your pet (she hates that, btw!).
Ranching: Raise cute animals on your farm. From cows to capybara!
Hotsprings: Visit Seikyu’s restorative hot springs and meet the mysterious girl who works there.
Festivals: Join the villagers for seasonal celebrations!
Boss Battles: As you uncover the secrets of Seikyu, you’ll encounter more powerful bosses. Keep your swords sharpened, adventurers!
New Outfits: What can we say? We’ve got a passion for fashion.
New Furniture: 100+ pieces of furniture at Early Access launch was just the beginning!
Bug Fixes & Optimisations: For a smoother Seikyu experience.
And More: Additional languages, more farm expansions, NPC birthdays, new casino games, and more!

We hope you’re excited to embark upon this adventure with us, and we’re literally counting down the days until you can set sail and start your new life in the countryside. We want you to know that we’re so very grateful for your support as we approach our Early Access launch, and we can’t wait to hear what you think of the magical world we have created. We’re counting on your feedback and bug reports to help us make Tales of Seikyu the kind of game you won’t be able to put down. In the meantime, don’t forget to wishlist the game and follow us on Discord, X, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit.