Sea of Thieves receives new update with a PvE adventure, shorter queue times

Avast, ye! An update is here!

It always makes me happy to see Sea of Thieves in the news — it’s one of those games that I think has a great premise and always delivers on the fun, and it’s managed to live on despite threats of a shutdown in 2022. The game is not only alive now, but thriving — evidenced yet again by announced a new update for 2023 that Rare announced this week. This release will focus on matchmaking improvements, as well as the addition of Pet Rocks and a brand new live event called The Secret Wilds. It’s always been exciting to be a pirate, but now, even more so.

The Secret Wilds event will take over right where the previous PvE event The Rogue’s Legacy left off, which explored the backstory of an undead pirate named Captain Briggsy. The event will run from January 18-February 2, so players will have a few weeks to delve further into the mystery.

Sea of Thieves is also getting a whole host of new cosmetics, including the “Labyrinth Looter” set of outfits, guns, and ship accessories themed around the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. There’s also a new emote that has players playing with their very own Pet Rock — I guess if you can’t have a parrot, a rock is the next best thing.

Arguably the most exciting changes, however, come in the form of improvements to the game’s PvP mode, especially when it comes to its matchmaking systems. In an attempt to make queue times shorter, Rare is introducing a system that will pair players with an opponent from the same faction if load times are too long to make sure that players will always be able to get into a game. In addition, Rare is also increasing the number of PvP arenas from six to 50, and the losing crew in a battle will receive more compensation as an effort to make losses less bothersome. Make sure to check out the Sea of Thieves news video for more info!