As expected, Sea of Thieves is an online multiplayer game in which players will cooperatively and competitively partake in traditional pirate activities. Those include running a ship by weighing anchor, unfurling sails, and laying down cannon fire on other ships, and island life -- though that was left merely teased. Oh, and don't forget drinking ale. There's plenty of ale to be drunk as well. Mostly though, there was a lot of sea battles with other pirate sh
Speaking to IGN , Rare's executive producer Joe Neate confirmed that the first major post-launch Sea of Thieves update will introduce microtransactions. This update is expected around three months after Sea of Thieves ' launch and "anything in this area will not impact power or progression, and you'll always know what you're getting - so that means no loot crates," says Neate. Given the ongoing controversy surrounding pay to win loot boxes and the debate on whether or not loot boxes are gambling , many will be glad to hear that Sea of Thieves won't feature that mecha
Some prospective Sea of Thieves players may question the decision to include microtransactions, but Neate has an explanation for the business model. "Ultimately I have to look at the reality of running a game-as-service as a business," says the executive producer, adding that "My goal and everyone else's goal here is to have as many people as possible working on this, and just keep giving people reasons to return, reasons to have fun. We have to run that like a business, you need revenue coming
Other honorable mentions include the mention of mermaids being listed as enemies although they appear to be benevolent in the beta, and other fruits joining the banana as food available to players. The full list of data below also features new maps, landmark locations, NPCs and Shops that have not been seen bef
And the cinematic trailer for Sea of Thieves does promise quite a bit more than what Rare was able to show today. Treasure hunting on land and under the sea, combat between ships using both cannons, pistols, and swords, adventuring on islands into hidden places, and encountering both enemy pirates and supernatural fiends like skeletons. And sprinkled throughout the trailer is gold, treasure chests, and the struggle to control such riches. And that's all layered under the social experience that's at the heart of Sea of Thiev
While the Sea of Thieves gameplay shown yet is not necessarily what the entirety of the game will deliver, Rare didn't want to just leave fans with an idea of what the game will be. As such, Rare put together a cinematic trailer to go along with the gameplay. This cinematic trailer captures what Rare intends Sea of Thieves to grow into between now and its launch, whenever that may be. Rare didn't give any promises on that front, merely stating that the team is working very hard and Sea of Thieves is growing closer to its vision every
Naturally, then, gamers have been eager to find out exactly what the online component of Sea of Thieves ' multiplayer would entail. Unfortunately, those expecting that the title would be free-to-play once initially purchased are going head to the Seaofthievesfans site be sorely disappointed. Sea of Thieves design director Gregg Mayles shot down the idea of a free multiplayer experience in an interview with Eurogamer at E3 2016 yester
Interestingly, Rare didn't have anything else to say about how Sea of Thieves would be monetised after its launch next year. All Mayles could offer in that regard was a broad design philosophy that hints towards a content release plan similar to that of Destiny or other long-term investments like The Divisi
A few things found in the datamining process include the Kraken. The data has animations for a Kraken holding the player, eating them, and spitting them out, and another action called 'waterdunk'. These animations are written out, as opposed to being actually visible, but it could be a hint as to what we'll see in the fut
Contrary to the silence that surrounded the game after Sea of Thieves ' E3 2015 debut , Rare has made sure to hammer home the price model of the title this time to ensure no ill-conceived rumors float around Sea of Thieves this time. Microsoft has experimented with a number of free-to-play multiplayer business models with its own titles, but those have found varying levels of success, with enough commercial failures - like Project Spark and Lionhead's Fable Legends - that companies like Rare have likely taken notice and adjusted business models accordin
Neate is not the first developer to offer this explanation, with former Uncharted developer Amy Hennig also saying that loot boxes and microtransactions are a result of rising game development costs . This means that players can likely expect more microtransactions in games going forward, but many will be hoping that they follow Sea of Thieves ' lead and only offer cosmetic unlo
Even though Rare Replay was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2015, it's been far too long since Rare has made a game that feels truly aligned with its original development vision. Yes, the masterminds of yesteryear have moved on from the heralded development studio, but when we got a glimpse of Rare's next project, it's hard not to feel that awesome blend of nostalgia and novelty that this UK-based developer seemed to capture so well.