500°

Sea of Thieves Passes 10 Million Players Since Launch

Xbox is excited and humbled to share that Sea of Thieves has now been played by more than ten million players, reinforcing its status as the most successful new IP from Xbox this generation.

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news.xbox.com
Jin_Sakai1943d ago

Not hard to believe when the game was available on Gamepass for $2 and there wasn’t any great exclusives to play on Xbox One at the time.

Kribwalker1943d ago

or, it could be that it’s turned into quite a good game that has quite a following
https://n4g.com/news/231534...

1943d ago
Concertoine1943d ago

Hopped back into sea of thieves for the first time in a year the other night with some friends. Between the fishing, fort of the damned, the tall tales and arena - its basically a completely different game.

darthv721943d ago

It's def much more expansive than initially released. And it's only going to keep growing as Rare comes up with more ideas.

gangsta_red1943d ago Show
CaptainHenry9161943d ago (Edited 1943d ago )

I stopped playing it a year ago but it was a steal on gamepass so I'm not complaining. I did lose interest, and the game wasn't that good to begin with. The Kraken doesn't even have a body when you go under the water. I feel like Microsoft is wasting Rare's talent and not taking advantage of their talent. I recommend you play Sea of thieves with your friends and not strangers for a better experience.

MadLad1943d ago

How is MS not taking advantage of their talent .... when they still have creative freedom on what they produce?
You're creating a narrative where MS is like 'MAKE LACKLUSTER CONTENT NOW"!

All that said, I've been hearing Sea of Thieves has turned into a pretty great experience. *shrug*

CaptainHenry9161943d ago

They haven't made a game that's on the same level as Perfect Dark Zero and Goldeneye 007 over a decade🤔

MadLad1943d ago

It's almost as if the creative minds behind the games you listed left the company prior to MS putting out any Rare games or something.

Weird.

bluefox7551943d ago (Edited 1943d ago )

@TheRealTedCruz I don't think it's the fault of their devs. MS has the money for the best of the best as far as talent goes. I think they have talented devs, I just think they restrict their creative freedom.

rainslacker1943d ago (Edited 1943d ago )

I played it some over vacation a couple weeks ago at my cousins house. It has improved considerably since it's first release. Didn't hold my interest enough to want to play it regularly, but that was more due to graphic design and overall way the game loop is handled as it's more like an world story where you insert yourself into the lore(like most MMORPGS), which just doesn't interest me anymore.

I do think if it weren't for game pass though it wouldn't have reached these numbers.

timotim1943d ago

@Rain

Well I'm sure its recent sales also played a role in helping to reach this milestone
https://www.gamesindustry.b...

1943d ago
Dragonscale1942d ago

The actual talented people left rare years ago. They are rare in name only nowadays.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 1942d ago
1943d ago
Christopher1943d ago

I gotta say, this statement doesn't make much sense to me.

1. Available on Game Pass for $2: yet people are still playing it regularly, so at some point they have to start paying more than $2 for it. And, the fact that people ARE playing it should mean it's worth to play over the many third-party and first-party titles on the service when they play it.

2. There weren't any great exclusives to play, even though on Game Pass they had options to include Gears 5 and The Outer Worlds (I'd mention Crackdown 3 as an option but...). Both games that scored way higher on metacritic (both 80+ games).

3. Yet they are going to play Sea of Thieves over the plethora of third-party titles including Metro Exodus, DMC5, Rocket League, Rime, and other games let alone tons of past year great games.

Kribwalker1943d ago

as well, forza horizon 4 released in that time, and has racked up a huge amount of users too

rainslacker1943d ago (Edited 1943d ago )

The first one wouldn't make sense if this 10 million players was an ongoing user base, and not just total number of people who have played. OP didn't say anything about ongoing MAU's(or some other metric).

Having played it recently, I can see why people would get addicted to it. It's certainly come a long way since it's release. I won't dispute 2 or 3, but neither of those accounts for ongoing users. They've also given it away with some console bundles, which obviously will help numbers.

Nothing to disparage against with the number of players here, so not trying to say it's a bad milestone.

SpaceRanger below wonders total play time of users. While that'd be hard to ascertain, surely one could look at trophy percentages of progression based and add-on stuff that could help give a more accurate picture. I don't care enough, nor am I familiar enough with the game to do it close to accurately, but if someone really wants to make their case, I think it'd be interesting info.

Since release I've played it maybe 4-5 hours. a few back when it first released, and 2-3 more recently on vacation.

Christopher1943d ago

"The first one wouldn't make sense if this 10 million players was an ongoing user base, and not just total number of people who have played. OP didn't say anything about ongoing MAU's(or some other metric)."

Please don't reduce my argument to just that, though. Much how I address each of their points, my points are an attempt to attack his argument as a whole.If #1 is about limited MAUs, cool, but why are those 10m people playing Sea of Thieves and not the other games that they also say no one has because MS never released any great exclusives even though they obviously have.

Tedakin1943d ago

It's 100 times the game it was at launch. It's a truly amazing game now.

timotim1943d ago

You talk of "at the time" but these numbers prove that the player base has remained consistent as time went on and more gamers played it as they continued to add content.

OneLove1943d ago Show
leejohnson2221942d ago

If you have gamepads surely you'll try anything once

DaveZero1942d ago

It's turned into a very good game with plenty to do. Games don't cost once you buy gamepass and even still many will of owned SOT outright because they don't own gamepass.

Unspoken1942d ago

Glad it has to fit within your beliefs. But, what you say is not factually true as there were other great exclusives to play. FH

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 1942d ago
SpaceRanger1943d ago

That’s an amazing achievement. I wonder what the average play time was for all those players?🤔

ziggurcat1943d ago

The issue with anyone reporting MAUs is that they basically count anyone who's booted the game, regardless of whether they've played for 5 minutes or 500 hours. That's why it's not really an accurate metric to measure the success of anything no matter who reports that statistic.

SpaceRanger1943d ago

I didn’t see any clarity on that in the article, so it could possibly be that a large portion played only for a handful of minutes. Based on some articles I read about how long it takes to get all achievements, it probably isn’t much time wise.

We’ll never know until MS decides to release that info.

TGGJustin1943d ago

Exactly. I bet a lot of people started the game and quickly got bored of it and never played it again. It's not a game you can really have fun with playing alone at all. I've tried it several times now since it's been out and I still find it to be a complete bore. Not to mention the combat and movement sucks. I also don't see any reason to play it. What are you working towards? New outfits for your character which you never see anyway b/c it's a first person game? Seems silly to me.

RpgSama1943d ago

"has now been played by more than ten million players"

That's not necessarily a great result, they're not copies sold or monthly active players, just people that at one point or another booted the game in these past 2 years.

leejohnson2221942d ago

Exactly it's a bloody nonsense and perfect propoganda tool for the professional marketing reps that for some reason people worship

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1942d ago
yomfweeee1943d ago

I tried to play it with my son. We spent less than an hour in it. So, those are the kind of people they count. No other statistics.

SpaceRanger1943d ago

Hmm, sounds like a lot of people don’t really spend time on this game. I know quite a few streamers played it for extended periods of time this years, but I guess that’s the minority.

Gunstar751943d ago

Less than an hour? You didn't even scratch the surface

yomfweeee1943d ago

@gunstar

The game had no tutorial or guidance. It is my understanding they added something in December... but that's 18 months late.

Found nothing to do except stupid terrible combat with some skeletons.

xX-oldboy-Xx1943d ago

I'd say 30min - 3hrs. Some may have stuck around, but apparently it was a dire launch for a new ip.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1942d ago
2pacalypsenow1943d ago

Impressive.

Can definitely say I'm one of those.

1943d ago
Automatic791943d ago

Congratulations to RARE for continue to believe in the magic of this game.

Eldyraen1943d ago

I wonder what they’ll do for the launch of the Series X. They said the team is still going strong after all, and the EverWild team is separate. It just seems a good time for a huge update imo, since they’re still supporting it.

I’d only go back though if they added a narrative mode, or some huge “Land-Ho!” experience where you discovered a huge landmass to explore to add some serious variety.

Show all comments (107)
180°

Report: Sea of Thieves PS5 Sales Surpass 1 Million

Sea of Thieves, the pirate-themed game from Rare, has reportedly surpassed one million copies sold on the PS5 per a new report.

Jin_Sakai256d ago (Edited 256d ago )

Yea, we’ll be seeing plenty more Xbox exclusives head to PlayStation..

just_looken255d ago (Edited 255d ago )

Just like sony tossing horizon on the switch xbox also sees the potential to double dip for sure.

I do not see xbox past next gen i think in the 2030's xbox will be just a publishing company if not next gen if you look at there console sales it would make sense to also not toss a console out next gen and just focus on software as they are making way more cash on software than hardware.

Now halo on the switch/ps5 hmmm

pwnmaster3000255d ago

Horizon the switch?

Are you talking about the Lego horizon game lol.
Totally different situation.

just_looken255d ago

@pwnmaster3000

Right because sony?

please enlighten us on how sony giving out there best recent ip to another platform is different then xbox putting there ip on other platforms.

Profchaos255d ago

Yeah it'd be crazy not to release horizon Lego on the switch those Lego games sell gangbusters on switch

DodoDojo255d ago

Xbox have been on the decline, Sony can comfortably run their businesses without relying on other systems for revenue. That's the difference.

just_looken255d ago

@DodoDojo

So there huge push to go multi-plat had nothing to do with there failing revenue?

Look at the spike after they tossed there ip's around and the pc sales of there games
https://companiesmarketcap....

Even sony knows were the cash is

@Profchaos

Oh for sure they spent $0 on making the game but will get some great check's in the mail that game is going to sell so well on that platform then they will toss it on switch 2 and or consoles got to have that double dip.

Gamingsince1981255d ago (Edited 255d ago )

Herp derp , maybe if it was actually horizon and not a lego game you might have a point but alas.

-Foxtrot255d ago

There’s no way Lego would make a game for them using one of their IPs and keep it exclusive

It was probably we either release it on the Switch or we don’t do it

If they did a Horizon spin off game for Switch with one of their own first party studios then fair enough, but it’s not. It’s Lego.

pwnmaster3000255d ago

Because it’s a Lego game and not actually one of the main game in the series. Compare to what MS is doing, it’s vastly different.

Now are they going to start releasing games to other platform. Maybe, but to the extent like MS. Who knows, but as of right now, comparing that move to what MS is doing is reaching so much.

DodoDojo255d ago

Man we have games skipping Xbox because the sales numbers aren't worth the time and the difficulties of dealing with the Series S, why in the world would Sony release their games on Xbox?

Christopher255d ago

That first sentence is a horrible argument. Makes no sense and feels like an attempt to shove Sony into this conversation at all.

I think Xbox will try their best to keep hardware around, but it won't be like it is now. I think they'll go all digital and go with a middle-line hardware and not a heavy pusher like the Series X. Something that will play games slightly better than Series X but will have a lot of built-in storage space.They'll, if possible, eat as much of that cost as possible to come under the PS6 in price by as much as possible, but the PS6 will, IMHO, be more powerful, because Sony relies on hardware to maintain their market and will keep it like that until there is no other option.

S2Killinit255d ago (Edited 255d ago )

@just_lookin
You are trying too hard to make it seem like both are doing the same thing. They are not. No buts or ifs about it.

On this topic:
I never played SOT, but its interesting that this game started off as a flop and built up to a relatively successful gaas game.

just_looken255d ago

This site is nuts

So sony tosses there games on pc gives out there ip to other companies for other platform's something they never have done in the past a ip only ps4 had in the past that is normal 0 issues.

Xbox tosses there game on a ps device we must stop the press flip the couch and go on about xbox for weeks.

Man trump needs to hire everyone here for his campaign/trials you all get him back in that chair asap.

PassNextquestion254d ago

If Microsoft wants Gamepass to succeed they need to keep putting out Xbox's. Otherwise they only other place you will see Gamepass is on PC'S, TV'S and Amazon Prime Sticks

254d ago
+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 254d ago
1Victor255d ago

I see what PlayStation players are doing with the long con of buying “Xbox exclusive games “ by over a million in less than 4 months to incentivize Microsoft to put all their games on day one on PlayStation and kill the Xbox console. 🤣
.
BTW
It’s a JOKE. don’t take personally obscured orchard crew

Tacoboto255d ago

Where they'll feel better with DualSense, load faster with the better SSD, and be accessible to more than 2x the console playerbase.

At least Hellblade 2 may come to a platform with a controller that can give its immersion the full respect it deserves. World-class tech for audio and visuals but stuck on an input that's been static since 2005...

just_looken255d ago

https://store.steampowered....

Hellblade 2 is on steam you know a computer were you can use any controller and have great audio.

Are you saying that the ps5 is the only console or device that has ever seen sound past stereo?

A ps5 is the only device to have a fast nvme ssd?

Input sense 2005? umm haptic tech has been around sense 1976
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

There is nothing a ds5 does that has not been done before somewere else even price gouging that was apple but now sony does that and crappy battery life man i miss ds3 battery life.

Tacoboto254d ago

You're pathetic and weird, stop with your strawman arguments and need to be antagonistic about everything.

I own the game on Steam and play it with DualSense on there but the features of DualSense are best on PS5 natively. I'm not saying that to refer to the controller speaker only, but the haptics especially *and* having those enhanced haptics wirelessly.

Obscure_Observer254d ago

"Yea, we’ll be seeing plenty more Xbox exclusives head to PlayStation.."

Indeed. And sell even more.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 254d ago
Vits256d ago

Makes sense. The game sold 5 million copies on Steam and had 30 million players in 2022. So it does have a hook; what it needed to sell on PS was essentially just to be available there.

just_looken255d ago

Does it not have crossplay also? so that too helps

just_looken255d ago

For those not pissed off i mentioned cross play i looked it up and it does have it
https://www.seaofthieves.co...

So people playing for a long time on xbox/pc can join up with people that only have a ps5 that is a nice feature witch again helps with sales.

ocelot07254d ago

It's also cross progression. When it first released in 2018. I bought my self the limited edition controller that came with a code for some unique clothing. I didn't like the game back in 2018 it was bland and empty. When I bought it during a sale on Steam in 2021 I was able to continue on where I left off in 2018 with the things I unlocked as well as my dlc outfit.

Forward to 2024 when I got it on ps5. I again could continue on from pc and still access my Xbox dlc from 2018 and I then got a exclusive playstation sail set.

just_looken254d ago

@ocelot07

That is cool what a great/rare feature to bad all games do not have that.

So no wonder it is selling well if a 2018 player can grab it on his/her ps5 then continue were you left off.

SlothLordPootus255d ago

Honestly less than I would've expected based on the buzz around release, but still a great milestone.

P_Bomb255d ago

That’s a great number after only a couple months.

254d ago
390°

Sea of Thieves lost 58% of its PS5 player base in a single month

Sea of Thieves seems to be experiencing a significant PS5 player count drop with over 50% of the Microsoft live-service game's player base no longer playing.

Read Full Story >>
truetrophies.com
shinoff2183324d ago

Couple things with this. I'm sure it's fairly common even on online games. My second point. Summer just started so alot of people getting outside, family trips, etc.

LoveSpuds324d ago

Bit early to suggest it's summer/holiday season for the likes of UK, Europe etc. July and August maybe, but not quite yet.

shinoff2183323d ago

From my perspective(u.s.) it's definitely summer and I imagine that's where a majority of players are. I know Europe and the UK ain't no punks and they game to though.

Kornholic323d ago

That's BS. June, July and August are the months for summer holidays.

-Foxtrot324d ago (Edited 324d ago )

Yeah...in the UK once we get a single ray of sunshine or get some warm weather we are out there to the beer garden like there's no tomorrow. We cherish the sun we get XD

Still early days though, it won't probably pick up until mid July at this rate.

Rainbowcookie324d ago

Where in the UK do you live Foxtrot?

-Foxtrot323d ago

Newcastle....so faaaaaar North

THE REAL NORTH :3

LucasRuinedChildhood324d ago (Edited 324d ago )

Yeah. Most people will buy a game, play it for a bit and then put it down for good or come back later. It's completely normal.

And most people don't even finish games (most teams would be quite happy with a 35-40% completion rate).

I'm personally not interested in Sea Of Thieves but it's important to be objective. The game is currently the #11 best selling game on the PS Store and was in the top 5 for weeks.

porkChop324d ago

This happens with literally every online game. They always see a significant drop in players after a few weeks. I don't understand why it keeps getting reported every time like it's some random occurrence. People constantly move from one game to the next. It isn't a new concept.

Rainbowcookie324d ago

Also many have a backlog of good games waiting in the wings. Time for the hard workers are limited, so you have to prioritize

Hotpot323d ago

The woe of GaaS, they have to fight for playtime against literally every other activity people do on their free time. With non GaaS you can just enjoy what they have to offer, whenever you want to, and move on.

Abear21323d ago

Kids don’t go outside in the US so that’s no excuse here. You see the news out here? Plus they can’t talk to people, maybe that’s the problem w Sea of Thieves, it requires human interaction lol

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 323d ago
CrimsonWing69324d ago

I don’t know how they expect to flood the market with these GaaS games and expect them to be successful. This seems to be the case, it’s rare for player engagement to be consistent like a Fortnite.

GamerRN324d ago

Didn't HellDivers lose a fair percentage of players? They only benefitted from the slow burn and show growth. Sea of Thieves didn't sneak up on anyone, and probably got a large Flux of players and 50 percent staying around is a pretty good number if you ask me

Tedakin324d ago

Helldivers is down 400 thousand players on Steam since launch. It's been dropping fast since the PSN debacle.

Zeke68323d ago (Edited 323d ago )

@Tedakin
Stop lying.
https://n4g.com/news/260442...
"According to Steamdb, on June 12th, before the 01.000.400 update, Helldivers 2 peaked at just 49,125 players on PC, one of the lowest peaks ever seen in the game’s history. However, on June 13th following the most recent update, the PC player count increased by over 86%, peaking at 91,692 players. "

Zeref323d ago (Edited 323d ago )

Sea of Thieves is very successful. It probably lost that many because it just released and blew up on playstation and most people won't play it long term. Same thing happened with Helldivers 2. It had almost 500 thousand consecutive players at release and then shortly after it lost half of that. It's normal.

CrimsonWing69323d ago

Isn’t the point of GaaS to, like Y’know, keep people playing it consistently while generating recurring revenue through microtransactions designed around walls of progression and battle passes?

How does that translate with multiple GaaS games? A few I get, but let’s not beat around the bush the industry is still focused on these over traditional because according to them if a AAA game is volatile no matter what, might as well go for the model that leeches on the wallets of the consumers.

I hate these types of games. I think the only one I actually enjoyed was Diablo 4 and that already grosses me out with the monetization.

It’s just whenever I see most articles about GaaS titles it’s like 80% on how they’re a failure and it blows my mind that the industry is adamant about shoving these down our throats. Honestly, it feels like they’re going to war with us by continually pushing these out.

Jin_Sakai324d ago

It’s a pretty and very boring game at the same time.

RaiderNation324d ago

Been saying this for years. People who love this game must be easily entertained.

-Foxtrot324d ago

I think if the game launched with what it has today I still don't think it would have gotten the best reviews. Better sure but nothing outstanding.

When you have a game that's set the bar so low at launch, the only way is up so everything looks 10 times better.

Zeref323d ago

If it wasn't it wouldn't be popular and topping the playstation charts right now

anast323d ago

Sea of Thieves is 22nd and falling according to time tracker. Not really a chart topper.

323d ago
Einhander1972322d ago

Sea of Thieves' PS5 Player Count is Crashing
https://gamerant.com/sea-of...

Sea of Thieves on PS5 has already lost 58% of players since its launch in April.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 322d ago
ThinkThink324d ago

This also seems like a good candidate for ps+

Show all comments (58)
140°

Sea Of Thieves Tops Monthly PlayStation Charts, What Does It All Mean?

Sea Of Thieves takes the gaming world by storm, becoming the unexpected best-seller on PlayStation. Find out how it happened.

Read Full Story >>
gamersocialclub.ca
325d ago Replies(2)
piroh325d ago

It means there is more to come

With the voice of duke nukem guy
"Come get some"

Knightofelemia325d ago

What does it mean? It means that Microsoft can make money putting exclusives on other consoles. No different then Sony putting Playstation exclusives on PC. Just means more revenue and opening the doors to new gamers to enjoy a decent game.

ChasterMies324d ago

It means Xbox exclusives are disappearing.i don’t think it’ll be too long before we see Game Pass exclusives. Renting games has more profit potential than selling games.

LG_Fox_Brazil324d ago

That makes no sense, a full retail game here in my country costs 300 bucks (70 dollars) and a single month subscription gift card can be bought by 20 bucks (5 dollars). If I have no option and want to play the new Gears of War I'll pay 300 bucks, but if I have the option to just rent I can play it and complete it for US$ 5... The company is potentially not earning US$ 65 from me... I am paying around 7% of a full profit. Do you understand what I mean? Renting does not make more profit than selling at all

Shane Kim324d ago

If it did, they wouldn't need to put their own games on Playstation.

mudakoshaka324d ago

For those who replay games, buying is the better option. But those who play games once, just buy a 1 month subscription and play the game.

Goodguy01324d ago

So PS fans do want mcsft exclusives after all, funny lol. As much as fanboys act that they don't care about other platforms' exclusives, they indeed want them too.

Ristul324d ago (Edited 324d ago )

Sure, we can take some more exklusives, can't complain.

ChiefofLoliPolice324d ago

"Sea of Thieves lost 58% of its PS5 player base in a single month"

Think you spoke a bit too soon partner.

Show all comments (15)