Sea of Thieves, one of Microsoft’s flagship games of 2018, was criticized for having a meager amount of content when it came out earlier this year. Developer Rare has been slowly trying to remedy that issue through updates. Today on Xbox One and PC, the game received The Hungering Deep, its most expansive update yet. It includes cosmetics, items, and a limited-time campaign.
The limited-time campaign makes up for the bulk (and namesake) of The Hungering Deep. For only two weeks, players can go out and kill a Megalodon, which is a gigantic, extinct shark species. Rare has added new tools to help with this task: a speaking trumpet that amplifies your vocal commands; a flag system that lets players “signal [their] intentions to other crews” from afar; and a drum that allows you to play your shanties “with a bit more impact.” Rare was adamant that these tools are vital for the mission.
Rare also added scars and tattoos in this update along with special limited-time cosmetics for completing the mission. Some items, like the Shark Hunter ship livery set, will stay after the event ends. However, if you are busy and unable to attempt the limited-time campaign, all of the features from it will stay in the world for everyone to see.
After The Hungering Deep expires, the game will begin to have weekly events that will fill the gaps between the campaigns and content updates. The first weekly event is called The Skeleton Thrones, where players have to find different thrones around the world and figure out how to sit and pose on them. Executive Producer Joe Neate detailed what these updates mean for them and the game in a new developer update.
“The Hungering Deep is really just the start,” said Neate. “We are really excited to see how it lands with players and to get everyone’s feedback. We’re always going to be listening and taking everybody’s feedback and applying those lessons to stuff moving forward.”
The Hungering Deep isn’t the end of the game’s content roadmap. Rare still has two other announced updates, Cursed Sails and Forsaken Shores, which should be out sometime in the summer. Neate also teased Rare’s presence at E3 but didn’t give any more hints.
