Sea of Thieves trailer shows off the top 10 things you need to know

Just in case you’ve been stranded on a desert island and haven’t been paying attention to Rare’s piratical multiplayer romp, Sea of Thieves, the studio’s put together a trailer listing the top 10 things you need to know about the game.

Sea of Thieves is all about setting out on nautical adventures with a crew of friends in a shared world—every ship you sea sailing the high seas is another group of players on their own journey. They might decide to board your ship, too; that’s if they’re not busy recording a video for their subscribers, because Sea of Thieves being designed with streaming and sharing videos in mind.

Though it seems considerably deeper, with its treasure hunting and exploration, Sea of Thieves reminds me a great deal of the short-lived AirBuccaneers, which pitted Vikings and pirates against each other in airship battles. So I also worry that, like AirBuccaneers, the experience will be easily ruined by other players shrieking into their mics or scuttling the ship for a laugh.

Steven had similar concerns after playing Sea of Thieves at E3. “Though I had some fun and could clearly see the potential for greatness, I also wished my team would shut up and just focus at the task at hand instead of reenacting scenes from The Titanic. By the end of the demo, I felt more like a frazzled parent of three than a jolly pirate.”

The trailer also serves as a reminder that there will be crossplay between PC and Xbox One, a feature I wish we saw a lot more of, given the number of multi-platform online games. The PC version will also feature a 540p and 15 fps mode, along with 4K and ultra widescreen support.

If you fancy being in the technical alpha, sign up for the Sea of Thieves Insider programme. You’ll need an Xbox Live account, however.

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.