Sea of Thieves has been receiving weekly updates since its launch last month, bringing balance changes and bug fixes, but Rare revealed today that there are some major content drops in the horizon, arriving free of charge to all players.
The first of these content updates is planned for early May, and it comes with the ominous title, The Hungering Deep. Rare didn"t go into any specifics but said that the update will introduce a new AI threat for pirates to tackle together as part of a new event, and will also bring new gameplay mechanics. Those that take part in the event will be able to earn some unique rewards as well.
Also in May, the game will see the introduction of weekly events, where various new mechanics to play around with as well as goals to achieve will be rotating on a weekly basis.
Beyond that, there are two more major content updates slated to make its way to the game in the summer titled, Cursed Sails and Forsaken Shores, which also carry new AI hazards, gameplay mechanics, as well as rewards. Among other features, Cursed Sails will herald the arrival of a new ship type while Forsaken Shores, as evident by its name, will offer a "perilous new part of the world to explore."
The studio added that the previously announced ship captaincy mechanic and the microtransactions based pets have been delayed to prioritize development of the upcoming content updates. Rare said that this change in focus is a direct result of player feedback, and that it will continue to listen to the community as to which direction the game will be heading.
Some of the most criticised aspects of Sea of Thieves is the shortage of variety and content, even pointed out in Neowin"s review of the game. Hopefully, these updates will succeed in spicing up the world for all the pirates sailing its seas.