You know what’s wild? When players buy an online game, they want stuff to do in that game. Not just one or two things but a lot of things, all the time. Like a constant stream of content! If that sounds obvious to you, it seems obvious now to the team at Rare in charge of Sea of Thieves… but it wasn’t so obvious at launch, leaving the team unprepared both for the demands of keeping a live game in development and the reactions players would have to a lack of content.
The bright side is that the lesson has been learned and the team is shifting gears to provide the content stream players are looking for, but it was a rocky transition from a single-player developer working to launch to understanding the need for permanent and enjoyable content for players. But it does look like the lesson has been learned ahead of the game’s next major update, and based on early impressions of the game’s upcoming Arena gameplay, it’s a good time to be a fan of Sea of Thieves.
So, about that Arena mode? Good news, it’s not just tossing a bunch of boats in a basin and waiting for everyone to start shooting. Instead, players are given maps to head off in search of treasure, with coins being rewarded to the players who uncover the treasure… or who broadside other players and take down another ship, even if that leads to a third player actually getting the treasure. In short, it encourages the sort of free-for-all open PvP madness that’s fun to play instead of frustrating.
The studio’s streaming the mode at noon EDT today, or you can just watch the trailer below.
