The sun is shining and the wildflowers are running amok, which can only mean we’ve ventured deep into spring! As always, we’re making time for a look back at all the excitements arising in April, neatly summarised in this handy round-up. Let’s find out what you might have missed…
Content Update
Marking the final instalment of Season 15, April’s monthly content update rolled out new Voyages for The Hunter’s Call, sending keen pirates in search of rampaging Megalodons and dangerous wild boars. Check out the release notes for the full rundown on the Hunters’ last update for now! This one arrived fairly late in the month on 24th, but that ensured there was plenty of time to slot in a quick hotfix beforehand to address a few quirks of the March update.
Just before April’s content drop, however, word started getting around that the bony inhabitants of the Skeleton Forts were up to no good, hiding vast quantities of Ashen treasure in some of their Vaults. Fortunately, plenty of pirates proved adept at liberating said fortunes during the Mega Stashes Event that ensued, and earned some lovely new facial hair along the way.
News and Features
Following the regular This Month article to tee up April’s calendar of events, we had some big announcements to unveil, starting with Sea of Thieves’upcoming arrival on Battle.net®! Our new friends won’t be joining us in full until Season 16 lands later in May, but be sure to give them all a warm welcome when they do. Second on the ballot was a series of substantial changes to our enforcement policy. This is the process by which we ensure that players adhere to our Code of Conduct and keep the seas safe – so the article is well worth checking out for an overview of how the new system works and where to check your own status.
Of course we couldn’t let the month go by without fulfilling a couple of regular features: our latest Community Spotlight featured #SoTShot success story and committed completionist GingerJefferson, while the maestros in Sea of Thieves’ music department seized the opportunity for another soundtrack addition, ‘The Great Meg Chase’! Who doesn’t want a dash of monster-hunting adrenaline in their morning playlist?
Videos and Streams
The Battle.net news came with its own essential announce video in April, while some familiar faces headed on over to the Tavern for the Season 15 edition of our in-house podcast, discussing the Season so far, our ongoing work around game health and a sneak peek at what’s to come later in the year.
And even though we’re all busily lining up a new Season launch in May, the Video team wouldn’t let you miss out on April’s staples: Daryl swung by with a new episode of Sea of Thieves News, as did Drew with the latest Developer Update, alongside all the usual suspects you’d expect from a monthly update including a release trailer and an Emporium overview. News also broke that applications for our Stream Team are once again open, so if you’re an up-and-coming streamer who doesn’t quite yet meet the requirements of becoming a Sea of Thieves Partner, the Stream Team might be the place for you!
Social Channels
We managed to pack two thrilling rounds of #SoTShot entries into April, zeroing in on Celebratory Scenes and Heart-Stopping Horizons, as well as a fresh set of fan creations in the Community Hub. The mayhem-inspiring Compass of Chaos also saw an update introducing a collection of new adventure prompts based on Season 15 features, while the latest set of Twitch Drops offered another incentive to watch streamers exploring the new monthly update.
As you might expect from a Season focused on wildlife, many of our community conversations this month were about animals – primarily what the new jellyfish like to be called and why we’ll follow Captain Porkers anywhere, regardless of his helmsman skills or lack thereof. Even the Kraken wanted to get in on the discussion! Needless to say, that went off the rails pretty quickly.
So as we head off to check that those excessive Krakenings have been brought under control, we’ll leave it there for another month! You can still find us in all of the social places you’d expect – Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, the official Forums and Discord – but until next time, that’s us. There’s some serious fishing to do before the latest Event ends, after all…
“Piracy’s more of an art than a science,” some grizzled old salt probably once said. There’s no way to be completely sure, but do please give us the benefit of the doubt, or this is going to be a very awkward opening paragraph.
One thing we do know for certain is that creating a pirate paradise takes an awful lot of science and art. So much so that in 2018 we were able to release The Art of Sea of Thieves: an entire volume of concept sketches and aesthetic explorations charting the evolution of the game’s distinctively ‘wonky’ graphic style and the creation of its pirates, ships and islands.
So what’s left to show? Plenty, as it happens, as Sea of Thieves has continued to change and expand since launch and many more artistic endeavours have been undertaken. The fundamentals may have been nailed down, providing a platform for more focused creativity, but the game’s ongoing transformation has provided us with a wealth of fresh material to feast your eyes on.
New characters, ship liveries, weapons, pets, threats and destinations… hundreds of unique art pieces have been created for the game’s various updates and Seasons, ranging from on-team concept work bringing ideas to life through to promotional renders that showcase the results. That’s more than enough to fill a second book and chronicle Sea of Thieves’ seven-year journey so far, and that’s where The Art of Piracy comes in.
Due for release on May 20th – and currently available to pre-order from all good retailers, so get that gold pouch ready – Sea of Thieves: The Art of Piracy goes year by year to provide a rich visual history of piratical pursuits, from the carnivorous peril of our first major update The Hungering Deep to the resurrection of Captain Flameheart and beyond.
Welcome to May, pirates! There’s a ton of fun planned for you over the next few weeks, so as is now customary, please enjoy this handy rundown of events and dates to look forward to. Grab a pen and your calendar before proceeding, because there’s plenty you won’t want to miss – including the start of a whole new Season…
Battle.net® Closed Beta – Friday, May 2nd – Monday, May 5th
For pirates preparing to set sail on Battle.net, the Sea of Thieves team are running a Closed Beta to help identify and iron out any issues before the global launch date of May 22nd. Players who’ve opted for the Sea of Thieves Deluxe or Premium Edition on Battle.net will be able to set sail on this platform for a long weekend – and, conveniently, will also get to enjoy the Festival of Fishing (see below) if they opt to play on High Seas.
Battle.net players over this period will be setting sail with players on all other platforms, so it’s a great opportunity to learn the ropes with some more experienced pirate pals!
Festival of Fishing Event – Friday, May 2nd – Monday, May 12th
The Festival of Fishing returns, bringing a brand new flavour to an old-school event. Building on the recent expansion of The Hunter’s Call, this Event tasks pirates with hauling in a variety of finned friends to complete an array of Event Goals. Two new Limited Voyages will also be on offer, along with double gold and reputation for fish handed in to The Hunter’s Call during the Event.
Players who participate in everything on offer can expect to bag the fantastic fish-themed Courageous Catch Fishing Rod, and the cracking Connoisseur of Culinary Craft Title.
Season 15 Style of Thieves Contest – Monday, May 12th – Thursday, May 15th
The latest Style of Thieves competition kicks off on May 12th, so keep your eyes trained on our official social media channels for information on the upcoming themes. The opportunity for some of our most well-dressed pirates to win a pair of Fashionista’s Finery Gloves is only a couple of weeks away!
Pirate Emporium Hidden Gems Sale – Thursday, May 15th – Tuesday, May 20th
May’s discount sale will spotlight a suite of items that haven’t been on sale for a while from the Emporium shopkeepers’ stock! Save some Ancient Coins on a range of stunning sets, with healthy discounts on the Checkmate, King’s Ransom and Ancestral Ship Collections. There’ll also be some cut-price Collector’s Pets, clothing, weapons and emotes – so make sure you browse the aisles and see if you can bag yourself a bargain while the sale is live.
Battle.net Early Access Begins – Friday, May 16th
For Battle.net Premium Edition purchasers, the six-day Early Access period will begin on May 16th! These players will be able to enjoy the final few days of Season 15 and earn some of this Season’s cosmetics by simply playing the game and raising their Renown. It’s also another chance to get familiar with the world ahead of Season 16’s launch, all while pocketing some extra gold to spend at the Outposts.
‘Reaper’s Requiem’ Release – Friday, May 16th
Our monthly musical release for May is ‘Reaper’s Requiem’, an anthemic ode to Flameheart’s Trading Company. Stream it straight to your ears via Spotify (or other streaming service of your choice) on May 16th, to get you all fired up for the Reaper-focused Season 16 landing later in the month.
The Art of Piracy Release – Tuesday, May 20th
May also sees the release of the long-awaited second Sea of Thieves art book: The Art of Piracy. Following 2018’s The Art of Sea of Thieves, this new instalment organises the game’s art into year-by-year selections that provide a rich visual history of its seven-year journey so far – featuring artwork for characters, ships, weapons, threats, pets and much more!
Although it releases worldwide on May 20th, the book is available to pre-order now from a number of retailers. Head over to publisher Titan Books’ website for more information.
Season 16 Launch – Thursday, May 22nd
As teased on Season 15’s recent podcast, Season 16 will be all about the Reapers, who are once more out to cause chaos on the Sea of Thieves. The majority of information on this upcoming Season is yet to be revealed, so expect more details in the weeks ahead regarding the Reapers’ aggressive ambitions.
Season 16 will begin on May 22nd, alongside Sea of Thieves’ full launch on Battle.net – so if you haven’t yet raised your Renown all the way to level 100 in Season 15 and earned all the unlockable rewards along the way, that’s your challenge before the big day…
Twitch Drops for Everyone – Friday, May 23rd – Monday, May 26th
With a new Season launch comes a fresh batch of Twitch Drops! Watch any participating channel between these dates to score an assortment of free items over Season 16’s first weekend. Our approach to Twitch Drops is evolving to offer a wider variety of goodies moving forward, so expect to hear more about the items included soon.
Twitch Drops are available by linking your accounts and watching any participating Sea of Thieves streamer on Twitch. Anyone can offer this set of Drops by streaming in the Sea of Thieves category and ensuring they have Drops enabled. If you’re just watching, go ahead and tune in to your favourite participating streamer or check our Partner Directory to see who’s online when these Drops go live!
While Season 15 will be saying its final farewells this month, there’s still plenty to keep you busy on the seas – so plot a course taking in everything that’s piqued your interest, and circle back here next month for a look at what June has in store.
Sea of Thieves Release Notes – Hotfix 3.3.2.1
Wild Seas
Wild Seas Commendation Balancing
Commendations tasking crews with the delivery of Pristine Tusks, Scales and Teeth have been rebalanced to require fewer items to unlock. While Grades 1-3 remain unchanged, Grade 4 now requires 15 (down from 25) and Grade 5 requires 20 (down from 50).
The following Commendations have been rebalanced: Master Hunter of the Savage Boar, Master Hunter of the Pristine Maw and Master Hunter of Pristine Megalodon Spoils.
Players with partial progress may need to hand in a further Pristine item in order for their correct Grade progress to be shown.
Kraken Encounter Balancing
While Kraken encounters will retain the ability to occur on a server alongside other World Events, the frequency of these Kraken encounters has now been significantly reduced.
Fixed Issues
Gameplay
Resource Barrels released from a sunken vessel will once again float to the surface and the resources can be consistently retrieved.
Crews beginning a Faction battle will be unable to receive aid from other crew members who join after the battle has begun. Additional crew members will now be held on the Ferry of the Damned until the battle is complete.
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.
Megalodon Hunting Voyage
Players with a high-resolution display should no longer find that using the Shrouded Glass creates a picture-in-picture effect.
Hunting Spear
Players can no longer use various methods to duplicate their stock of hunting spears.
Pirate Emporium
The King’s Ransom Grapple Gun is no longer shown as ‘On Sale’ and has returned to its correct price of 249 Ancient Coins.
Known Issues
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.
Full Release Notes
These release notes cover a hotfix. For full details on recently added game features, see the release notes on our latest content update.
Sea of Thieves Enforcement Policy Update
Since Sea of Thieves launched, we’ve taken thousands of enforcement actions against those who’ve acted against our Pirate Code when sailing the seas. When our enforcement system was first designed, we had a lot less experience in the live service arena – and while we were as informed as we could’ve been back then, we didn’t necessarily understand what the impact of this would be years down the line.
Over the last six months or so, we’ve been taking the time to review and analyse our enforcement strategies with a view to evolving how we move forward. While we’ve shared our plans for this in a previous Developer Update (from 7:15 in the video below), today our new policy goes live – so we wanted to take this opportunity to talk a little more about the how and why.
From today, we will be giving players more information on why we’re taking action against their accounts and an opportunity to change their ways. While, unfortunately, there are a few bad eggs in this world who do want to cause harm and distress to others, we’re conscious that some folks might just be having a bad day and immediately regret their actions – and we want to give these players room to learn from their mistakes.
Our Previous System
Our previous enforcement system was a three-strikes-and-out policy – which has worked for us, but has also had some limitations and made it hard to take nuanced action. For example, if a player had received their third strike for a relatively minor offence, under the old system they would have received a lifetime ban – which, after a long and lengthy review on our side, felt perhaps a little too inflexible.
For someone on the end of this enforcement action, under our old policy they would have simply received a Redbeard error message upon their next attempted login, rather than any specific information on what happened and why, resulting in a lack of clarity around our decision-making. In this scenario, a user may have ended up banned without necessarily understanding why, or perhaps even thinking that we’d overreacted to a report about a smaller infraction.
With that in mind, we’ve been developing a new enforcement system that allows us to more accurately capture the nuance of offences committed, and enables us to communicate exactly why action has been taken against someone’s account. Our system is an evolution of the Xbox points system, and we’ve spent a lot of time collaborating and consulting to ensure that the new system addresses our concerns with our previous enforcement policy, while also making sure that punishment of more serious offences carries the right weight.
Newly Introduced Changes
Under our recently introduced policy, every new player begins their journey on the Sea of Thieves with zero points, and can accrue a total of 12 points before receiving a permanent ban on their account. If a report is submitted against them, points will be administered to their account – with clear communication to the offending player(s) as to why. Varying points will be accrued for certain types of offence; the below classifications aren’t an exhaustive list, but we wanted to provide some clear examples.
Toxic communication over text/voice chat that isn’t of a discriminatory nature (i.e. doesn’t use racist, homophobic, misogynistic or ableist terms) will – depending on the strength of the offence – earn a player from 1-3 points and a corresponding suspension of 1-3 days for each instance of this behaviour.
Discriminatory toxic communication that uses slurs/prejudiced language over text or voice chat will earn players 7 points and a seven-day suspension. This means that previously, under our three-strike system, players had to offend three times to be banned – whereas with these types of offence, it’s now reduced to just two (within a given time period).
Cheaters will receive 12 points immediately, plus a permanent ban.
Key Changes Beyond the Points System
The important thing with these offences is that the offending player is told that why they’ve received a suspension and points on their account. They won’t just log in to find a Yellowbeard or Redbeard with minimal context, but will be contacted directly with the reasoning behind the action taken.
Another thing we’re introducing with this policy is that, if a player with points has a ‘good’ month – i.e. they do not receive any more reports of poor behaviour – their total points tally will decay by 1. This means that if you receive 2 points for toxic communication, but behave yourself over the following couple of months, you’ll go back down to a total tally of 0. Our hope and intention is to communicate with these players why they received their initial enforcement action, and give them space to reflect and improve upon their conduct.
If that sounds like something it might be hard to keep track of, don’t worry – we’re bringing players’ enforcement status to their profile on seaofthieves.com, so everyone knows exactly where they stand. This will also include when their access to Sea of Thieves will be restored, if they’re currently serving a temporary suspension for an offence.
Previous Offences
For players who have recently offended and received enforcement action on any scale: we’ve had our points system up and running in the background for a little while now, so when this change comes into effect, you’ll see your score reflected when you log in to the website. We’re not wiping the slate clean on previous poor behaviour, but there will be a net benefit in that our approach to further offences will have a better-suited and more nuanced outcome.
For players who’ve experienced poor behaviour, the reporting process will remain largely the same. However, we’ll continue to work on improving the ways you can get reports and information over to us for review. To submit a report about something you’ve encountered on the seas, please head to support.seaofthieves.com to provide evidence and a summary of what you’ve experienced – or initiate a report via the in-game menu.
An Evolving Process
Although we’ve been monitoring recent enforcement activity in the background through this new lens, we’ll continue to keep an eye on scores and behavioural changes as it comes into effect. We know that there are still a few things we’ll have to refine or work on to ensure fairness across the board, but change has to start somewhere – so we hope you’ll understand and appreciate our move to a much more transparent and flexible system that looks to forgive players who can recognise they’ve made mistakes, while punishing folks who want to undermine the integrity of the Sea of Thieves experience.
While we can appreciate this is quite a significant change in how we approach enforcement, the ultimate goal is to provide transparency on why we take action, and allow players to grow with that feedback instead of rebel against it. We hope – and believe – that this will lead to a better player experience for all pirates.
Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 3.3.2
Wild Seas
Heed the call in Season 15, which brings a wealth of new incentives to The Hunter’s Call while introducing new wildlife both harmless and hostile. For an overview of the fierce features rolled out over the course of this Season, head to our dedicated Season 15 page!
Megalodon Hunting Voyage
Crews can now take on a Voyage to track an enraged Megalodon that has been wreaking havoc across the seas, leaving vessels destroyed in its wake. This Voyage can be started from the Quest Table upon reaching rank 20 with The Hunter’s Call.
While hunters will need a keen eye to track the Megalodon by the debris left behind, they'll also be provided with a handy tool: the Shrouded Glass. This enchanted spyglass is capable of showing the trail left by the enraged beast to aid in pursuit.
Wild Boars
Wild boars now inhabit some islands across the seas. Found in small packs on islands, boars will flee when approached, leaving a trail of hoofprints and fruit. Be warned: while they may appear skittish, they will charge when provoked and can restore health by eating nearby fruit.
Players can hunt wild boars in addition to the larger Grand Boar of the pack. While hunting, all boars reward the crew with meat, while the tougher Grand Boar leaves behind the Boar Tusk – a new treasure item that can be sold to The Hunter’s Call.
Crews looking for loot can sneakily follow boars to their wallows, where treasure they’ve gathered can be retrieved.
Boar Hunting Voyage
Crews can also be tasked with hunting a fierce Grand Boar in A Pirate’s Boar Hunt, a new on-demand Voyage from The Hunter’s Call available upon reaching rank 15.
Hunting Spear Balancing
Hunting spears are now considered a resource when brought aboard the ship, and will remain when diving to a Voyage or Faction battle, or when travelling through the Tunnels of the Damned.
A thrown hunting spear now deals increased damage to players, resulting in a one-hit kill on a player at full health.
Hunting spears thrown or fired at creatures now deal additional damage to their target. When used to strike Megalodons or Ancient Megalodons, they now deal even more damage.
Hunting spears fired into a ship’s hull now let in an increased water flow while they remain stuck in place.
Hunting spears lodged in a ship’s hull now require more effort to remove, increasing the time taken to dislodge them.
Kraken and Megalodon Encounter Rewards
Emergent encounters with Kraken and Megalodon now reward crews with additional treasure items when defeated, including a greater chance of items for The Hunter’s Call.
Megalodon Encounter Balancing
Encounters with an emergent Megalodon will now pose a greater challenge, with Megalodons acting more aggressively towards nearby vessels.
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.
Wild Seas Commendations and Rewards
With the introduction of wild boars and new Hunting Voyages, new Commendations have been added within the Reputation tab to challenge aspiring hunters.
Players can unlock the Jagged Jaws Throwing Knives after completing all hunting spear Commendations, and unlock the Wild Seas Curse upon completing all Wild Seas Commendations.
Gameplay Improvements
Addressing Movement Exploits
Players finding ways for their pirate to become stuck inside moving parts of the ship or island lifts will no longer find that they are ejected through the air at abnormal speed. They will still be bumped out of the pinch point, but should no longer be able to gain a tactical advantage from this scenario.
Pirate Emporium
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!
Skin Scriber Ship Collection and Ship’s Crest
Skin Scriber Costume Bundle
Skin Scriber Weapon Bundle
Skin Scriber Compass
Waltzing Worm Emote Bundle
Relaxed Sit Emote (free!)
Outpost Cosmetics
New Outpost Stock!
The Outpost shipwrights now have the Blue Resolute Hull, Sails and Flag available for purchase.
Updates
Enforcement Status
Sea of Thieves has introduced a new enforcement policy, giving players more information when we take action against their account and providing an opportunity to change their ways. For more on why we’ve introduced this new policy, see this article: Sea of Thieves Enforcement Policy Update.
Players who are currently suspended or banned from Sea of Thieves will now be shown their account status when attempting to log in to the game. This shows any current enforcement, time remaining for players temporarily suspended and a QR code directing players to the Sea of Thieves website where they can view further information.
Players navigating to the Sea of Thieves website will now also see their account status, along with the number of points currently on their account.
Disrupting Stream Sniping
Improvements have been made behind the scenes to further protect our players, including creators, well-known community members and anyone who is vulnerable, by disrupting techniques used by people with malicious intent to search for specific players on the seas.
Detection Improvements for Ban Evasion
Further detection improvements continue to roll out behind the scenes targeting players who evade game bans to regain access to Sea of Thieves. These improvements will continue to be deployed in phases to systematically crack down on banned players and prevent them from returning to the seas.
Fixed Issues
Gameplay
An issue causing all tutorial notifications to be reshown to players has now been resolved. Players who have previously completed the criteria for clearing a tutorial will no longer be shown these in future sessions.
Players using the blowpipe should now only be shown the dart switch tutorial until the action is performed, or until the tutorial is shown three times which will hide it for future sessions.
‘The Legend of Monkey Island’ – Players should no longer be able to leave their Sloop or Brigantine and return to the islands in these Tall Tales while travelling through the Tunnels of the Damned.
The Lightbearer Pistol has had its aiming improved to ensure shots now align with the tip of the iron sights.
Seagulls appearing alongside vessels sailing the seas will now consistently follow the ship for a short while before moving on.
Performance and Stability
Players on PC should no longer find their DirectX Shader Cache becomes stuck in size, leading to client performance issues.
Further improvements have been made to game stability to reduce scenarios where players unexpectedly exit the game or become disconnected from their session.
Sea of Thieves: Premium Edition
Players who purchased the Premium Edition of the game should now find the intended Dire Dark Warsmith items in their various Customisation Chests.
The Hunter’s Call
Hunter’s Call resources can now be picked up later if they were bought in a previous session and not collected.
The Merchant Alliance no longer sell or buy Bait Crates and have passed responsibility to The Hunter’s Call, preventing players from purchasing and then reselling crates on the same island.
The Hunter’s Call Voyage tab now displays icons for all related Voyages.
The Hunter’s Call motto has been updated on the Quest Table.
Hunting Spear
Players can no longer interact with a ship’s ladder while throwing to duplicate their stock of hunting spears.
Aiming the hunting spear while sprinting will now apply the intended movement slowdown.
Hunting spears fired into damaged areas of a ship will consistently display the correct water effects and sounds.
Spears fired from island cannons should no longer become stuck in the surrounding environment.
Attempting to pick up items from a Collector’s Chest while holding a hunting spear will no longer cause the item to disappear.
Hunting Spears can now be sold to The Reaper’s Bones.
Spears dropped on the ship no longer trigger the ‘Treasure Aboard Ship’ notification.
The audio effects for removing a spear from a ship’s hull now loops as intended when cancelling and quickly restarting the action.
Releasing or cancelling a spear throw when entering the water now consistently shows the intended throw animations.
Pirates aiming a spear and jumping into deep water will now continue to appear aiming.
Hunting spears now produce a splash visual effect when thrown into the water.
Fishing Voyages
If a player dies while holding a caught fish, Treasured Fish now drop on the ground, while regular fish are added to the player’s inventory if space is available.
Fish still on a fishing rod no longer disappear should the player die.
Frenzy fishing spots should no longer be seen inside the ship when anchoring nearby.
Ancient Megalodons
Crews engaging an Ancient Megalodon will now consistently hear the appropriate encounter music.
Crews will now progress the Helm of Sea Beast Battles Commendation when defeating Ancient Megalodons.
Environment
Chests placed on the lifts at Skeleton Camps will now rest properly and not appear to be floating.
‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – Players should no longer be able to get underneath the island at various locations.
‘Captains of the Damned’ – Players are now prevented from using a Grapple Gun to reach unintended areas of the environment.
Visual and Audio
The Regal Duke Flag now displays correctly when equipped on a Brigantine.
Pigs wearing outfits now appear correctly when viewed at all distances.
During the Maiden Voyage, the Pirate Lord now appears at the intended brightness when arriving on the player’s ship.
Players equipping the Weighty Lower Body parts of the Skeleton Curse should now appear correctly when performing emotes.
Defeating any island animal will now consistently show the appropriate death animation.
The ship’s lantern near the wheel continues to emit light when moving to various locations around the stern.
Firing the Radiant Comet Blunderbuss no longer allows players to see through the stock during the weapon’s recoil.
The Magpie’s Glory Pocket Watch thumbnail now displays the dial in the correct orientation.
Players’ hands no longer intersect with the Beachcomber’s Bounty Wheel when sailing.
Players performing the Cut the Cake Emote can no longer push the camera inside the barrel.
The Fates of Fortune Eye of Reach scope now appears correctly while reloading.
Pirates of all body sizes now grip the Lucky Hand Double Barrel Pistol correctly.
Text and Localisation
Improvements have been made to the Fishing Voyage Map to address overlapping text across a range of languages.
The Sovereigns’ tutorial now provides accurate information about the value of selling food at Seaposts.
‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ – French text in the Quest Book for this Tall Tale now displays correctly without overlapping.
‘The Journey to Mêlée Island’ – Overlapping text issues in Stan’s Sales Ledger have been resolved.
‘The Quest for Guybrush’ – Text within the Quest Book has been improved to address overlapping text in Japanese, Russian and Polish.
‘The Lair of LeChuck’ – Text within the Quest Book has been improved to address overlapping text for Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Thai, French and Italian languages.
Known Issues
Ship Resources
Resource Barrels released from a sunken vessel will no longer float to the surface and will currently remain underwater. However, the resources can still be retrieved from these barrels while underwater.
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 and Installation
Download Size:
Steam: 2.2 GB
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2025
March has always been a big month for Sea of Thieves due to it being the time of our anniversary. It was all the way back in March 2018 when our pirate playground first opened its doors to players, and every year since, we’ve tried to make the moment feel special. So read on, dear Steam user, to find out all about how we chose to mark this momentous occasion…
Content Update
There was no shortage of things to do throughout the anniversary period this year, from a Seventh Anniversary Celebration in-game Event offering rewards of cosmetics, gold and even Ancient Coins, to three new 2025 Editions of the game and of course a full-blown Season 15 Community Weekend! We even had a crossover moment with Microsoft Casual Games – bet you didn’t see that one coming.
It wasn’t all anniversary delights either. No matter what else was going on, we weren’t about to zip through March without a monthly game update continuing the delivery of Season 15 content. This update added the hunting spear – a new throwable weapon perfect for tackling the aggressive wildlife (and aggressive pirates) of the Sea of Thieves – and an eruption of ambient fauna including ship-following seagulls, lizards, bats and jellyfish. How many have you managed to find out there on the waves?
News and Features
After a cheeky BAFTA nomination to start the month, our This Month in SoT article arrived to announce the calendar of anniversary festivities, and was followed by our very own Head of Community and Comms spilling the beans on what to expect from Season 15 Community Weekend. The community focus also had us in the mood for some more Spotlight goodness, two of which appeared in March: a Community Spotlight on face cataloguer Hans Sprungfild and a Creator Spotlight on VTuber and Stream Team member Róisín!
Once Community Weekend was done and dusted, it was full speed ahead into March’s content update and a new State of Play post from Production Director Drew to fill you in on priorities moving forwards. But until the month was over, the anniversary shenanigans were not officially done, and we closed things out with some Xbox collaborations including anniversary merch in the Xbox Gear Shop, a new Perk for Game Pass Ultimate players and a Sweepstakes competition for a very special controller! Get your entries in now (but please mind the teeth).
Videos and Streams
It’ll come as no surprise that our Video team spent a busy March delivering Sea of Thieves News, a content update trailer, a showcase of our latest – fatefully familiar – Pirate Emporium offerings, and all the other things that accompany a monthly update. Drew also stopped by to film his latest Developer Update, which took particular note of some important changes to our enforcement policies.
There were, of course, anniversary-specific things to enjoy too. The official soundtrack got a thematic addition in the form of ‘Happy Birthday’, while a handy explainer video filled in all the details about the new 2025 Editions of the game. And naturally, we couldn’t let such a momentous Community Weekend pass without a Community team livestream, which is well worth a watch if you want to know what kind of unhinged mischief the team gets into when they’re left unattended in the office on a Saturday…
Social Channels
Celebrations always put us in a giving mood, so it’s little wonder that March rolled out a Community Hub update, a round of Mighty Megalodon #SoTShot winners, some high-spirited Event rewards and even the mysterious Title that everyone was talking about. Don’t ask us, we just work here. Community Weekend alone was packed with little delights (and Twitch Drops including Obsidian beauties unlocked by smashing the cumulative community goal).
With it being anniversary time, many of our monthly musing threads encouraged you to look back on the last seven years. But it wasn’t all about distant memories, as the wild delights of Season 15 were plentiful and invited some burning questions – it was impossible to deny there were some hot Megs and an electric atmosphere out there. After that, introducing a crewmate or two and sharing a cronchy banana seemed like a good way to round things off as we awaited the adventures April would bring.
March was a month filled with celebrations and community goodness, and it was a pleasure to have you all along for the ride – here's to you! Time for us to get back to rolling out April’s updates and adventures, but until we see you back here next time, you can always find us in the usual places: Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, the official Forums and Discord. Otherwise, that’s it from us and we’ll leave you in Steve’s capable hands. Good luck!
As we sail on into April, there are new and exciting opportunities in store for pirates all across the Sea of Thieves. From treasure-filled Mega Stashes to a game update bristling with fresh challenges, it’s another action-packed month for seekers of fortune. Read on…
Sails of Woven Wonders – Tuesday, April 8th – Tuesday, April 15th
In the spirit of a Southern Gothic folktale unfolding this month in a distant world, these elegant midnight-blue sails can be claimed for free by anyone who plays Sea of Thieves between April 8th and 15th. Find them in your Ship Customisation Chest and weave new tales as you set sail!
Players who picked up the X Edition of Sea of Thieves will get a special variant of their own, as they find the Misted Sails of Woven Wonders retroactively added to this edition’s cache of extras…
Pirate Emporium Spring Sale – Wednesday, April 16th – Tuesday, April 22nd
Spring has arrived on the Sea of Thieves, bringing a Pirate Emporium sale packed with a vibrant selection of ship sets, costumes, weapons and emotes! Celebrate growth and nature as you wrap your deck in the Mandrake ship set, slip into the Paradise Garden Costume or arm yourself with Beachcomber’s Bounty weapons – all these and more available at healthy discounts.
If you want to be more expressive, expand on your emotes with the Oar-Inspiring and Secret Coconut Emote Bundles. For those seeking a major makeover, the Pirate Appearance Potion is on sale too!
Mega Stashes Event – Thursday, April 17th – Thursday, April 24th
During the Mega Stashes Event, setting sail for Skeleton Forts and clearing them out could lead to even greater rewards. Daring pirates have a chance to uncover Ashen Mega Stashes down in the Vaults – a hoard fit for even the most seasoned treasure hunter. And if you want a memento of your time robbing the skellies’ stashes, conquer enough Skeleton Forts during this Event and you’ll be rewarded with the magnificent Stash Seeker’s Moustache!
‘The Great Meg Chase’ Release – Friday, April 18th
A thrilling new addition breaks the surface to become part of the Sea of Thieves soundtrack! ‘The Great Meg Chase’ will be available to stream on Spotify or the streaming service of your choice from April 18th, bringing the pulse-pounding tension of a Megalodon pursuit straight to your playlist.
April Monthly Update – Thursday, April 24th
The final instalment of Season 15 brings even more adventures to those who sail for The Hunter’s Call. While the seas teem with new life, there are fresh encounters to be had on land too as wild boars now roam the islands!
These scrappy scavengers hoard treasure in their wallows, but if threatened they won’t hesitate to defend their turf with razor-sharp tusks. You may well run into boars while out on your adventures, and The Hunter’s Call will challenge you to track them down as part of additional Company Voyages. The same goes for Megalodons, with Voyages targeting these legendary sea monsters also added to the roster in April. Be ready for a fight!
Twitch Drops – Friday, April 25th – Monday, April 28th
Fancy ending the month with some extra rewards? This set of Twitch Drops allows you to tune in and claim the Stormy Sea Dog Bucket and Drum, Stalwart Sea Dog Cutlass, Seasoned Sailor Rapier and Rising Morningstar Eyepatch.
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!
Sea of Thieves Release Notes – Hotfix 3.3.1.1
Wild Seas
Hunting Spear Rewards
With the hunting spear duplication issues now resolved, cashing in a hunting spear at The Hunter’s Call once again awards the originally intended amount of reputation and gold.
Updates
Performance Monitoring
Following reports of a performance regression with March’s game update, this hotfix includes improvements to performance monitoring behind the scenes to aid in the investigation of these issues.
Fixed Issues
Hunting Spear
Players can no longer use various methods to duplicate their stock of hunting spears.
After throwing a hunting spear, players can now quickly switch to another weapon or item and aim as intended.
While holding a hunting spear, attempting to retrieve items from a Treasure Chest should no longer cause the item to disappear.
Using a quick tapping method to repeatedly throw hunting spears should no longer cause the next throw to become stuck.
Jumping while aiming a hunting spear will no longer cause the pirate’s aiming animations to snap.
Known Issues
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.
Full Release Notes
These release notes cover a hotfix. For full details on recently added game features, see the release notes on our latest content update.
Download and Installation
Download Size:
Steam: 1.3 GB
Lightbearer Cosmetics Now Available!
Calling all Guardians! Yesterday's update brought the latest content update to Sea of Thieves, and with it, some radiant new additions to the Pirate Emporium – Lightbearer items, inspired by the world and characters of Destiny!
Whether your pirate is as silent as a Hunter, mighty as a Titan or wise as a Warlock, they’ll find a ship set to suit their style, complete with Collector’s cosmetics and a Ship’s Crest. An array of matching weapons and a costume set to round out the range ensures you’ll be ready to take on whatever otherworldly foes may stand in your way.
You can check out the trailer below to see the full Lightbearer assortment, and then visit the Pirate Emporium to gear up and get ready for battle – the seas are counting on you!
