Sea of Thieves final beta commences, all Windows 10 and Xbox One players can join

With less than two weeks left before Sea of Thieves hits the deck for Xbox One and Windows 10 players, Rare has unleashed the game's final beta session, which will run its course until 2am PT on March 11. And, unlike previous sessions that required players to join the Insider Program or pre-order the game, this beta is completely open to everyone.

According to the changelog, This beta carries some new features that haven't been seen in previous closed sessions, such as the newly implemented Xbox One X enhancements, bringing 4K support and high-resolution textures.

The Merchant Alliance has also arrived to the Sea of Thieves as a new trading company. Seen in previous trailers and such, this company tasks players with shipping cargo to various outposts in the region. The cargo ranges from ship resources like gunpowder kegs, to animals that players must capture and deliver, while making sure to keep them well fed. All this must be done before the given time expires, all the while making sure no other pirates steal the cargo.

The empty Skeleton Forts that are littered across the map are now used as a special event location, where numerous skeletons will spawn to protect a vault filled with treasure. When the event occurs, a cloud in the form of a skull will appear above the island, giving an easy-to-follow the signal to all players in the server, making the journey to open the vault a dangerous one.

Lastly, new cosmetic items, as well as different styles of items and weapons, are also included in the beta. The maximum level that players will be able to reach for each trading company in this session will be 25, hiding away some of the more desirable items until the full launch.

The beta is now available to grab on the Microsoft Store for Xbox One and Windows 10 players, and the PC system requirements can be found here. Meanwhile, Sea of Thieves full release is slated for March 20 featuring Xbox Play Anywhere and cross-play functionalities. The game will also be a part of the Xbox Game Pass program at launch.