Summary
Sea of Thieveshas surpassed 40 million lifetime players, Rare has revealed. This remarkable user milestone was achieved around the timeSea of Thievesconcluded its immensely popular PlayStation 5 beta.
March 18 marked the sixth anniversary ofSea of Thieves' PC and Xbox debut. The live-service pirate game was met with decent reviews, eventually developing a healthy player community, not least because of its consistent influx of new content. APS5 port ofSea of Thieveswas announcedin February 2024 as part of Microsoft’s pivot to multi-platform publishing.
Sea of Thieves Hits 40 Million PC and Xbox Players
Following the conclusion of the game’s PlayStation beta, Rare Executive Producer Joe Neaterevealedthat the co-op action adventure has exceeded 40 million lifetime players. The studio official clarified that the cited figure only includes Xbox, Microsoft Store, and Steam versions of the game, without offering a player count breakdown by platform.
That number could ostensibly grow notably higher in the near future, primarily driven by PlayStation users. The game’s recently concludedPS5 beta was so popular thatSea of Thievesservers struggled to keep up, with Rare even apologizing for the longer matchmaking times that ensued. The test was only available to PS5 owners who pre-ordered the game, making its beta momentum even more impressive.
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Givenhow wellSea of ThievesPlayStation pre-orders have been doingeven before its closed beta test kicked off on April 12, the game appears likely to improve on its already remarkable lifetime player count in the foreseeable future. While six years is a long time to stay relevant, Rare’s co-op title has been pretty consistent at finding new audiences, having averaged 7.5 million new players per annum since its second anniversary. Even so, adding 5 million new users in just a couple of months is the fastest thatSea of Thieveshas grown since its 2018 debut.
Between Season 12 that’s expected to drop in summer 2024 and the April 30 release of the game’s PS5 version,Sea of Thievesappears to be well-positioned to maintain its momentum for the foreseeable future. Its PlayStation port may be the driving force behind its near-term prospects, at least as far as Microsoft’s expectations are concerned. That was recently suggested by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, whosaid that all of the Xbox games going multi-platform in 2024will be titles that the company decided have already maximized their audience within its own ecosystem.
Sea of Thieves
WHERE TO PLAY
Sea of Thieves offers the essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and become a legend in your own right. With no set roles, you have complete freedom to approach the world, and other players, however you choose. Whether you’re voyaging as a group or sailing solo, you’re bound to encounter other crews in this shared world adventure – but will they be friends or foes, and how will you respond?A Vast Open World:Explore a vast open world filled with unspoiled islands and underwater kingdoms. Take on quests to hunt for lost loot, forge a reputation with the Trading Companies and battle foes from Phantoms and Ocean Crawlers to Megalodons and the mighty Kraken. Try your hand at fishing, make maps to your own buried treasure or choose from hundreds of other optional goals and side-quests!Become Legend:On your journey to become a Pirate Legend you’ll amass loot, build a reputation and define a unique personal style with your hard-earned rewards. Adventurer. Explorer. Conqueror. What will your legend be?
