Rare has always embraced the idea of “tools, not rules” inSea of Thieves,allowing players to carve out their own unique identity within the game. Players are able to roleplay however they see fit, engage in activities that they like, and otherwise define their own pirate adventures, without having to be told that one way is the only way to play the game. Because of this,Sea of Thieveshas always been a deeply personal experience among fans.
Now,Sea of Thievesseason 7 has sought to reward players for how they play, introducing captaincy, a way to name their ship, and a way to personalize their own captain’s cabin based on how they choose to engage in the game. Game Rant recently spoke with creative director Mike Chapman and lead designer Shelley Preston about these new features and plans for features like captaincy in the future. Pirates are always associated with their ships, and this update lets players see their ships as a home on theSea of Thieves, becomingtheir Black Pearl to Jack Sparrowor their Queen Anne’s Revenge to Blackbeard. It is so in-depth that many could see it as an end goal forSea of Thieves,but in fact, “captaincy is the tip of the iceberg,” according to Chapman.
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Because captaincy rewards personal roleplay and encourages that aspect with a set of personal rewards, as described by Preston, Game Rant asked if there were plans to allow further personal customization in the future. “Yes, definitely. Why not?” was Chapman’s immediate response.
It’s hard to imagine exactly what this could be, though the idea ofcaptaincy inSea of Thievesjust being the beginning is exciting, but Rare does have future plans to allow players to further customize this experience.
Generally, that idea of the ship becoming a home and you having more choice, and there being more persistence around your personal pirate journey, I think captaincy is very much the beginning. As we look to the future, of course, we’ll do the things that we’ve always done, enrich the world, give you more mechanics, and more tools to create these different stories. But we also want to give players more options where they feel like they’re creating their experience, they’ve got more control, and it feels deeply personal. So I’m not going to drop any feature names, but like, this is just the start for that deeper side of customization.
Captaincy speaks to the ambitions of Rare forSea of Thieves, with Preston also adding that Rare doesn’t want to curtail its ambition but also acknowledging that balancing that ambition with in-game content is tricky. Yet, their goal is to never curtail that ambition, opening the door for any number of avenues related toSea of Thieves' customization.
In a similar vein, Chapman also said that season 8 would be just as ambitious.Sea of Thievesseason 7started up recently, of course, so it’s too early to really focus on season 8, but it’s good to know thatSea of Thieves' future is just as ambitious as its present.
Sea of Thievesis available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
