Sea of Thieves is Changing How its Seasonal Content is Released, Insider Programme Returning in 2026

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In a recent gathering with its Sea of Thieves community, developer Rare shared some strategies they’re implementing to maintain and enhance the success of their pirate-themed online game, both in the immediate and long-term future. Although Rare has been transparent about updates and plans, they admitted there’s room for improvement. To address this, one significant action they’re taking is revamping the Sea of Thieves Insider Programme.

Apart from this announcement, Rare has expressed that they will pay closer attention to community feedback when planning future seasonal content for Sea of Thieves. The revamp of the Sea of Thieves Insider Program is scheduled for 2026, and will incorporate various community-focused initiatives.

The studio mentioned, “We’re taking the first step towards increasing community involvement, and starting from the upcoming season, we also intend to host a Seasonal Feedback Session with our Insider Program participants. During this session, we’ll ask for your thoughts on the content we’ve recently unveiled, as well as broader feedback on aspects such as performance, fairness, bugs, and overall enjoyment. This will help us monitor sentiment over time and pinpoint areas where we can provide content that addresses existing desires or opportunities within our current offerings. As always, we promise to share the results of these surveys with you, our valued players.

As a dedicated Sea of Thieves gamer, I’m excited to share some inside scoop! Rare, the creators of our beloved pirate adventure, have decided to fine-tune their approach to developing seasonal content for this game. To achieve this, they’re shaking up their development team and revamping the way they produce and roll out seasonal updates.

In essence, each three-month Sea of Thieves season will now be divided into three distinct phases, one for every month. This means more frequent and varied content drops to keep us swashbucklers hooked!

In the first month, we’ll roll out new sandbox elements and the setup for the season’s worldbuilding. The second month will feature the highly-anticipated live event of the season and further developments in the game’s ongoing narrative and folklore. As we move into the third month, we aim to entice players returning to the game with a refreshed sandbox experience.

In addition to ongoing gameplay, “Sea of Thieves” will persistently feature live events. Notably, a Community Weekend is held every first month of a season, and a Gold & Glory event occurs in the last month. As this represents a significant change for the studio, there will be a transitional phase. Consequently, Season 16 will forego a Community Weekend, while Season 17’s Community Weekend is scheduled for early August.

In August, Season 17 is set to begin, maintaining the previously mentioned format. The opening month will introduce the Smuggler’s League, accompanied by innovations such as smugglers’ hideouts, novel loot types, and Smugglers’ Runs. Heists will make their debut in Sea of Thieves during the second month, serving as the main live event for this season. Season three will then aim to revamp the Skeleton Fort experience.

It’s hinted that Season 18, set for release on Sea of Thieves towards the end of the year, will emphasize the Devil’s Roar region and enhance the significance of Emissaries within the game.

Sea of Thieves is available on PC, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

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2025-07-11 14:41