Sea of Thieves
18 documents in the library are about Sea of Thieves, from writers such as GameDiscoverCo, Alinea Analytics and Game Developers Conference, the newest from 2026. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
Sea of Thieves is a first-person multiplayer action-adventure game in which players take on the role of pirates exploring an open world ocean. Crews of one to four players operate sloop, brigantine, or galleon ships cooperatively, completing voyages for various trading companies, hunting for treasure, battling skeleton forts, and encountering other player crews who may form alliances or attack. The game features a cosmetics-only progression system, meaning all players have equal gameplay capabilities regardless of experience level.
- Released
- Mar 20, 2018
- Developer
- Rare
- Publisher
- Xbox Game Studios
- Genres
- Simulator, Adventure
- Platforms
- Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One
- Links
- Official site, Wikipedia
Game data from IGDB.com
Documents about Sea of Thieves
How Old Are Your Players, and Does It Matter for Discovery?
The piece investigates the average age of Steam players for games released after January 2020 that have sold over 25,000 copies, using a 10,000-sample survey called the Steam Fan Snapshot.
- The median age of Steam players for games released after January 2020 with over 25,000 sales is 33, confirming that older players constitute the core demographic.
- Games with an average player age of 36 typically feature single-player and strategy tags, while those averaging 28 years old are five times more likely to feature multiplayer tags.
- High-average-age titles are predominantly single-player, strategy-heavy, or retro games like Titan Quest and Songs of Conquest that appeal to users with long PC histories.
Xbox Game Sales on PlayStation
This analysis examines the commercial performance of first-party Xbox titles on the PlayStation platform, providing a data-driven perspective on Microsoft’s evolving approach to exclusivity.
- Thirteen first-party Xbox titles have surpassed 100,000 units on PlayStation, generating a combined $667 million in gross revenue.
- Forza Horizon 5 is the top-performing title on PlayStation, accounting for $323 million in revenue from 5.8 million units sold.
- Oblivion Remastered has moved 1.2 million units on PlayStation 5, with approximately 75% of its buyers having previously played the Skyrim version on Sony hardware.
Windrose Sails Past 1.3M
The pirate-themed survival game Windrose, developed by the 60-person studio Kraken Express, achieved a significant commercial milestone by selling 1.3 million copies on Steam within its first ten days of early access.
- The pirate-themed survival game Windrose reached 1.3 million players in its first 10 days of early access, generating approximately $30 million in revenue.
- Windrose achieved a record-breaking 11.3% wishlist-to-purchase conversion rate during its first week, significantly outperforming the industry standard of 5–7%.
- The game’s marketing strategy prioritized high-trust micro-influencers over mainstream advertising, resulting in 474,000 new wishlists in February 2026, including 351,000 during Steam Next Fest.
Forza Horizon 5: Success on PlayStation 5
Forza Horizon 5 has achieved significant commercial success on the PlayStation 5 platform, surpassing 5 million copies sold since its release in April 2025.
- Forza Horizon 5 has surpassed 5 million copies sold on PlayStation 5 since its release on the platform in April 2025.
- The title’s success on PS5 has helped the franchise reach a total of over 53 million players across all platforms.
- Forza Horizon 5 is selling on PS5 at a rate approximately three times faster than Sea of Thieves, the previous top-selling Xbox port on the platform.
Who's Winning Video Game Discords? We Know!
The primary purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the current landscape of Discord community management for video games and provide a performance overview of the Apple Arcade service as of mid-2025.
- Discord community success has transitioned to a 'Discovery Meta' model, where rankings are driven by daily operational excellence and high activity-to-membership ratios rather than raw member counts.
- Discord is relaxing its historical one-million-member cap for AAA titles that demonstrate strong engagement metrics, favoring active communities over static ones.
- Top-performing Discord servers, including Marvel Rivals, Genshin Impact, and Roblox, maintain their status through curated onboarding, consistent daily programming, and specialized bot integration.
Xbox Dominated PlayStation’s Top 10 Games in April
The gaming industry is witnessing a significant shift in platform dynamics, as evidenced by Xbox’s increasing success as a third-party publisher on PlayStation hardware.
- Xbox-published games dominated PlayStation's top 10 best-selling games in April 2025, accounting for 48% of copies sold with only three titles, and 69% of copies sold in the top 5.
- Forza Horizon 5, an Xbox title, was the #2 best-selling game on PlayStation in April 2025 with 837.3K copies sold, despite only being officially available for two days (seven with early access); it has sold 1.4 million copies on PlayStation within eight days, selling 2.1 times faster than Sea of Thieves.
- Minecraft, another Xbox-owned game, was the #1 best-selling game on PlayStation in April 2025, selling 978K copies, nearly doubling its March sales of 527.1K, likely due to hype from "A Minecraft Movie."
How Well Have Xbox Games on PlayStation Been Selling So Far? It Differs
Xbox has transitioned into a third-party publisher, strategically porting its software to PlayStation to mitigate stagnating console and Game Pass growth.
- Xbox's multi-platform strategy has generated significant sales on PlayStation, led by Sea of Thieves with 1.8 million copies and Grounded with 432.2 thousand copies sold since April 2024.
- Xbox is successfully reaching a new audience on PlayStation, as evidenced by 29% of Grounded players on the platform also playing Sea of Thieves, suggesting a cohort of 'Xbox-curious' users.
- Niche Xbox titles have seen lower adoption on PlayStation compared to larger hits, with Hi-Fi Rush selling 137.2 thousand copies, Age of Mythology Retold selling 41 thousand, and Pentiment selling 14 thousand.
What Those Studio Closures Mean for Xbox's Future
The recent closure of several Bethesda-affiliated studios, including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, signals a significant shift in Microsoft’s long-term strategy for the Xbox ecosystem.
- Microsoft is pivoting Xbox strategy away from prestige single-player titles toward 'retention-first' games, following a 30% drop in hardware sales and flat non-Activision content revenue in Q3.
- The aggressive acquisition strategy of the late 2010s has stalled as Game Pass reaches saturation, leading Microsoft to prioritize massive, multi-platform franchises over owning numerous development houses.
- Steam developer payouts typically average 58% of gross sales after accounting for refunds, chargebacks, and taxes, significantly lower than the nominal 70% revenue share.
Riven's Remake Tops a Slower "Steam Debuts" Week
Market performance for the final week of June 2024 reflects a significant slowdown in new releases as the industry deferred to the launch of the Steam Summer Sale.
- The Steam Summer Sale period caused a significant slowdown in new paid releases during the final week of June 2024, shifting market focus toward established hits and high-anticipation free-to-play titles.
- The First Descendant is positioned as a major upcoming contender in the looter-shooter segment, currently leading interest with over 215,000 Steam followers.
- The 3D remake of Riven performed as the week's top debut, reaching approximately 1,700 maximum concurrent users and selling between 25,000 and 30,000 units on Steam.
Here Comes Hellblade II: How Will It Do?
Market analysis of mid-May 2024 game releases indicates a period of high-performing PC ports and mixed results for established strategy franchises.
- Ghost of Tsushima's PC launch exceeded expectations, peaking at over 60,000 concurrent users and establishing itself as a top-performing PlayStation-to-PC conversion.
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is projected to have a moderate Steam debut with an estimated peak of 5,000 to 15,000 concurrent users, hindered by a relatively low follower count of 22,000.
- Homeworld 3 and Men of War II faced mixed user reception due to technical issues and high fan expectations, which may negatively impact their long-term sales performance.
Plus: A Spectacular Week for Indie Debuts on Steam!
The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the global video game market during a high-performing week for independent debuts in May 2024.
- Hades II dominated the May 2024 indie market with over 103,500 peak concurrent users (CCU) and nearly 20,000 positive reviews on Steam.
- Ten independent titles achieved over 1,000 CCU on Steam during their debut week, demonstrating the strong commercial viability of high-quality indie projects.
- Animal Well successfully utilized viral marketing and influencer support to reach 6,400 CCU, while Rabbit and Steel found success by blending bullet-hell mechanics with MMO-style raiding.
How Jump Ship Added Nearly 300k Wishlists in Just 2 Months
The primary focus of this analysis is the mechanics of game discovery and sales conversion on Steam, specifically examining how the co-op shooter Jump Ship secured nearly 300,000 wishlists within two months of its reveal.
- Jump Ship gained nearly 300,000 wishlists in two months by leveraging high-quality IGN coverage, authentic trailers, and a clear 'Sea of Thieves in space' value proposition.
- Steam’s algorithmic amplification is a primary driver of discovery, as evidenced by Jump Ship securing 35,000 wishlists in a single day simply by appearing on the FPS tag page during a platform festival.
- Data from 700 games released after September 2023 indicates that modest 10-15% launch discounts have a negligible impact on long-term sales and conversion rates compared to the game's inherent hype and genre appeal.