New players cannot currently join Sea of Thieves (Updated)

Update: We were able to get in about 30 minutes ago in a two-player sloop, but it took several tries.

The open world multiplayer pirate-'em-up Sea of Thieves launched yesterday, and in the finest tradition of online game releases, it was a mess. Our own hearty band of brigands struggled to get aboard until late last night (although they still managed to put together this handy beginner's guide), and developer Rare acknowledged on Twitter today that a large number of players are also having issues.

The situation is apparently proving tougher to resolve than expected, as Rare has now put a temporary halt to new players joining the game.

In order to resolve the issues players are seeing with the servers, we will be temporarily suspending new players joining the game. We'll get everyone back in and playing as quickly as we can!March 20, 2018

There's no indication as to what's causing the issues or when they might be resolved. Soon, hopefully, but for right now, if you're not already out on the water then you may as well go do something else. I've reached out to Rare for more information, and we'll let you know when the main sail is ready to be raised again.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.