Xbox's newfound dedication to bringing its first-party titles to PC continues to grow. The latest example being Halo 2 coming to PC as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Today the Xbox team has another PC announcement to make, as Rare's incredible pirate game Sea of Thieves is now confirmed for a launch on Steam on June 3.
Sea of Thieves has been available for some time now on PC via the Microsoft store. There, Sea of Thieves has had cross-play between PC and Xbox One since it launched. A Steam release, however, is certain to expand the base on PC. Steam's platform likely sees an order of magnitude more PC gamers than the Microsoft Store does. Cross-play between Steam and the other storefronts is already confirmed, with an opt-out available.
The announcement from Rare came with a new Sea of Thieves trailer teasing the game's content, including many of its feature additions over the past year. Whether it's skeleton ships, the megalodon, immersive pirate stories, fishing, or even Sea of Thieves' competitive Arena mode, Steam users will hopefully see something exciting to do in the pirate game.
As for why Sea of Thieves is coming to Steam now, it's hard to say. Development simply may have taken this long, with Rare's focus being on Xbox One and the Microsoft Store. It could also be an effort to boost the game's player count. Over two years old now, the live service game's got to retain players every way it can. Whatever the reason, giving more options to players is rarely a bad thing. Steam users can pick up Sea of Thieves for themselves on June 3.
Sea of Thieves is available now on PC and Xbox One.