Sea of Thieves' final beta is open to everyone

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Pigs, chickens, and skeleton forts included.

Sea of Thieves’ final beta has kicked off, and this time every scurrilous seadog is invited to prowl the high seas for booty and, more importantly, friendship. And since this is the last beta before it launches on March 20, Rare is going to be letting pirates access a bunch of things that have been kept out of previous betas.

As well as all the ship-on-ship and treasure hunting shenanigans from the earlier betas, the final beta will let you get your grubby mitts on even more gold by participating in some legitimate business, ferrying cargo like pigs and chickens from port to port. It’s not just a matter of going from A to B, however, as your bovine and porcine chums need to be looked after, fed and protected from other pirates. 

If getting into scraps is more your cup of grog, then there’s always the Skeleton Forts. These citadels are full of invading corpses that have to be taken out by your fine self and any other crews in the area. Eventually you’ll get to meet the head honcho, and if you defeat him you’ll get a key that unlocks some serious riches. 

The wrinkle is that these other crews might be just as dangerous as the skeletons, and while you can team up with them to claim the fort, there’s just as good a chance that they’ll betray you and make off with the loot. 

Since this is the most players Sea of Thieves has had to handle, Rare warns that you should expect some hiccups, and it might block new players getting into the game intermittently, when problems occur. 

Sea of Thieves’ final beta will sink to the bottom of the ocean at 10am GMT on March 11. You can join by finding 'Sea of Thieves Final Beta' on the Microsoft Store.

Fraser Brown
Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.