It always makes me pleased to see Sea of Thieves in the headlines – it’s one of those games that has a wonderful idea and consistently delivers on the pleasure, and it’s managed to survive despite threats of closure in 2022. The game is not only alive, but prospering, as proven by Rare’s announcement of a new update for 2023 this week. This update will include matchmaking enhancements, Pet Rocks, and a completely new live event called The Secret Wilds. Being a pirate has always been fun, but now it’s much more so.

The last PvE event, The Rogue’s Legacy, revealed the tale of an undead pirate named Captain Briggsy, and the Secret Wilds event will pick up right where it left off. The event will continue from January 18 through February 2, giving participants a couple weeks to explore further into the mystery.

The “Labyrinth Looter” set of costumes, firearms, and ship accessories inspired by the Greek story of Theseus and the Minotaur is also available in Sea of Thieves. There’s also a new emoticon in which gamers are seen playing with their very own Pet Rock – if you can’t have a parrot, a rock is the next best thing.

The most interesting upgrades, though, come in the shape of enhancements to the game’s PvP mode, particularly its matching mechanisms. Rare is implementing a mechanism that will pair players with an opponent from the same faction if load times are too high, ensuring that players will always be able to enter into a game. In addition, Rare is boosting the amount of PvP venues from six to fifty, and the losing crew in a combat will be compensated more in an effort to make losses less painful. Check out the Sea of Thieves news video for additional information!

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