Summary

  • Sea of Thieves' plans for 2025 focus on game performance, security, and player safety.
  • The January 23 patch will introduce changes to Trinkets, networking, and various other fixes.
  • The 2025 roadmap also includes new treasures, server improvements, and increased investment in game security to combat cheaters.

Production Director Drew Stevens has informed players about Sea of Thieves' plans for 2025, revealing the three major areas the studio will focus on: game performance, game security, and player safety. Stevens has also shared details about key improvements coming in the patch that will hit Sea of Thieves on Thursday, January 23.

Sea of Thieves offers players an open-world experience where they can step into the boots of a pirate and sail across the ocean. Since launch, the developer has been active in keeping the Sea of Thieves experience fresh by adding new content, mechanics, and more. Sea of Thieves has been very successful, surpassing 40 million lifetime players in April 2024, though it has faced challenges on PS5. By June 2024, it was reported that Sea of Thieves had lost 58% of its player base since the game launched on the platform. The developer is aware of the ups and downs of the game as well as the competition it faces, and is now revealing its plans for 2025.

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Sea of Thieves: How to Complete Legend of the Veil Voyage

For Pirate Legends hoping to complete the Legend of the Veil voyage in Sea of Thieves, this detailed walkthrough should make the process much easier.

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Production Director Drew Stevens has revealed that game performance, game security, and player safety will be the three major areas Sea of Thieves will focus on in 2025. Stevens explained that the studio’s focus is on improving the game’s “health,” as Sea of Thieves has suffered from cheaters ruining the experience for many players since launch. Regarding game performance, the developer is committed to tackling both broad changes to how entire systems work and specific problematic areas that players have reported. Stevens assured that the studio is making big changes to “some pretty fundamental areas.” He hinted at some upcoming experimental changes that involve higher risks but reaffirmed the studio's decision to follow this path in order to improve the game experience.

What Are the Three Areas Sea of Thieves Will Focus on in 2025?

  • Game performance
  • Game security
  • Player safety

In the next update, releasing on January 23, Rare is introducing changes to Trinkets and networking. Trinkets’ setup has been improved along with how they load when approaching a Sea of Thieves captain’s ship, while changes to networking will smooth out certain situations where the game previously stuttered. In addition to this, many other small fixes will be introduced in the upcoming patch.

Stevens revealed that Sea of Thieves' treasures and ships will also be a major focus in 2025, as the studio plans to gradually introduce new treasures and loot while optimizing existing ones. Servers will also see some improvements to ensure proper functionality and better support for players' demands.

To crack down on cheaters, Rare is investing more in game security in 2025 and will expand the part of the team in charge of this. While Sea of Thieves gears up to bring a better experience for players, Rare has confirmed that more information about its 2025 plans will be revealed in the future.

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Sea of Thieves
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Adventure
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 69 /100 Critics Rec: 37%
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Released
March 20, 2018
ESRB
T for Teen: Crude Humor, Use of Alcohol, Violence
Developer(s)
Rare
Publisher(s)
Microsoft Game Studios
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
PC, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Sea of Thieves offers the essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and become a legend in your own right. With no set roles, you have complete freedom to approach the world, and other players, however you choose. Whether you’re voyaging as a group or sailing solo, you’re bound to encounter other crews in this shared world adventure – but will they be friends or foes, and how will you respond?

A Vast Open World:  Explore a vast open world filled with unspoiled islands and underwater kingdoms. Take on quests to hunt for lost loot, forge a reputation with the Trading Companies and battle foes from Phantoms and Ocean Crawlers to Megalodons and the mighty Kraken. Try your hand at fishing, make maps to your own buried treasure or choose from hundreds of other optional goals and side-quests!

Become Legend:  On your journey to become a Pirate Legend you’ll amass loot, build a reputation and define a unique personal style with your hard-earned rewards. Adventurer. Explorer. Conqueror. What will your legend be?
 

Genre(s)
Adventure
How Long To Beat
130+ Hours
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
89 GB (December 2023)
OpenCritic Rating
Fair