Sea Of Thieves Talks About The Challenges Of Live Service And Reveals New PvP Mode ‘The Arena’
In this day and age, content is king when it comes to the world of online games. Players are always hungry for ne content, new adventures, and new things to do. A fact that Sea of Thieves Executive Producer Joe Neate admits was very challenging for him and the Rare team with the pirate-themed MMORPG being their first-ever live service game. According to GamesIndustry.biz the forum jokes even went as far as calling the game “Sea of No Content” even with four expansions rolling out over the past year.
“It is our responsibility as a studio to balance sustainable working and how we deliver new content to people. So servicing our players and giving people new things to do on a regular basis, but taking into account that the last 16 months for us has been super hard work. We ran to launch, and the feedback was basically that the game is cool, but give us more stuff. So we have spent the last year doing that.”
The good news is that Neate and his team have already updated their strategy to keep players interested. Design Director Mike Chapman reveals that the turning point was Shrouded Spoils, the game’s fourth expansion, unexpectedly brought a ton of players back into the game. “Shrouded Spoils was just that point where all that clicked together,” says Chapman. “It had that staying power and it convinced people about what was special about Sea of Thieves, if they hadn't thought that before.”
The studio hopes to bring in even more players with their upcoming Anniversary Update. The massive update will roll out on April 30th and will feature not one, but two significant expansions. The update includes The Arena, a new PvP competitive mode, and Tall Tales which adds an expansive storyline along with a host of other features such as destructible masts, harpoons, fishing, and more.
“The Arena is a new game mode designed to complement the existing Sea of Thieves adventure. It allows players to dive straight into on-demand competitive play with other crews for more action-focused encounters. Combining higher-stakes teamwork and strategy, The Arena provides a unique gameplay experience and a new way to enjoy the world of Sea of Thieves.”
Watch the video below to get an idea of how The Arena works. We’ve also included the official Anniversary Update trailer right after that.
