Sea of Thieves is getting paid custom servers next year, and Rare are switching up their approach to seasons

As outlined successful a first-ever assemblage nonstop that's travel not agelong aft Microsoft's layoffs

Big piratey happening Sea of Thieves volition beryllium getting customized servers arsenic portion of a paid subscription work successful "early 2026", developers Rare person announced during a first-ever assemblage nonstop for the game. That's acold from each of the studio's plans, with wider shakeups besides successful the pipeline.

This outlining of plans to marque definite the bully vessel SOT is not lone seaworthy, but tin successfully broadside the galore different vessels competing for its players' attraction comes with immoderate depressing and un-piratey context. It follows Rare being 1 of the studios affected by Microsoft's wide layoffs earlier this month, with Everwild being among the fig of in-development games cancelled arsenic portion of the cuts.

In the hour-ish of their assemblage nonstop and accompanying Steam blog post, Rare acknowledged that they've got immoderate enactment to bash to support folks invested successful the game. "We cognize we haven’t deed the people our players were hoping for successful presumption of crippled wellness and performance, particularly erstwhile it comes to being reactive to cheating and the crippled acquisition connected PC," they wrote, "We’re besides cognisant that we could beryllium much attuned to the desires and experiences of our subordinate base, and we’ll beryllium moving hard to remedy this successful future."

Cue immoderate changes to however the teams moving connected SOT are structured, with Rare saying it's expended the squad focused connected "improving the halfway playability and stableness of the main game". Alongside this, the studio's taking a antithetic attack to however they operation three-month seasons, with caller worldly arriving each period truthful the players ever person thing caller to do.

While seasons 17 and 18, some of which were teased here, are coming soon, those customized servers volition beryllium arriving aboriginal adjacent year. They'll beryllium deployed arsenic portion of a caller subscription's "premium package", which'll besides see different benefits. You'll beryllium capable to tweak the seas of your custome server to suit your each whim, spawning enemies, turning disconnected enemies, moving safer seas fleets, messing astir with the devs' cinematic camera. The spot oysters travel from is your oyster.

"Although this subscription work is landing adjacent year, we’ve taken the determination to denote it bully and aboriginal truthful that our Partners and originative communities tin commencement making plans sooner alternatively than later," Rare wrote, "We privation to physique this toolset successful concern with the community, and moving it arsenic a subscription exemplary means that we tin guarantee ongoing concern into and improvement of customized servers arsenic a platform."

So, determination you go. Sea of Thieves is sailing on. Hoist the mainsail.