E3 2016 - Sea of Thieves Gameplay Info, Release in Early 2017

Published: June 17, 2016 10:37 PM /

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Sea of Thieves

Some new details for the upcoming Rare title Sea of Thieves have been shared over E3, beyond what we saw at Microsoft's press conference.

Of particular note is how the co-operative pirate game will have players be given "pirate-themed" names upon joining a team, and all ships and sails out in the world are crews manned by real players. In a true MMO-like fashion, Sea of Thieves will be fully co-op, but players can go it alone if they wish to do some solitary exploring. 

All ship battles will be with human opponents and opposing crews.
All ship battles will be with human opponents and opposing crews.

Rare Lead Designer David Chapman also confirmed a few more tidbits about the game, mostly notably regarding how important is to Rare that the interactivity of real fans playing the game is to the experience. "When we talk about Sea of Thieves," he states, according to Dualshockers, "It’s all about different player motivations: people who want to explore, people who want to play ship combat, people who want to go on epic quests. The best way to show the game was to really be authentic with it and showing real players having a great time."

With that, some expectations that fans would look far Rare are focusing on for Sea of Thieves, in particular, a lot of customization options, which Chapman doesn't get into great detail with, and player freedom. Players will be able to explore tropical islands, board other players ships, mingle in taverns and more, all in the name of player freedom. Rare is also hoping to have a close relationship with their players on Seas of Thieves, with Chapman stating that seeing how players play the game will provide good feedback during the titles upcoming beta testing. Rare also confirmed that the game will not be free to play

Drinking in the Tavern with a group of friends is designed to make the crew closer, according to Rare.
Drinking in the Tavern with a group of friends is designed to make the crew closer, according to Rare.

While Rare has not announced when the beta test will be for Sea of Thieves, they have announced a probable timetable for a full release; February 2017. That window, of course, is subject to change, but for now, Sea of Thieves is set to be released for the Xbox One and PC sometime early next year.

Remember, you can find more of our E3 coverage at our E3 2016 Coverage Hub.

So what do you think about some of this gameplay info? Will you try out Sea of Thieves? Leave your comments below.

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| Staff Writer

A longtime player of games, creator of worlds, and teacher of minds. Robert has worked many positions over the years, from college professor to education… More about Robert