The shortest of months has passed us by in record time, but that hasn’t stopped us from packing those 28 days with exciting content to get stuck into. There’s so much to cover that we’re just going to skip the preamble and dive right in, okay? Okay. Let’s go.
Content Update After the stargazing Adventure that took up the second half of January, we decided that in February we’d keep our attentions a little closer to home with the latest
{LINK REMOVED}Community Day! On February 11th, pirates from across the seas came together to celebrate, and many of you
took to Twitter to share your adventures and bump the collective Emissary Grade to the max. The more adventurous souls also tackled a Community Day-themed
bingo card – were you able to cross off any squares?
Later in the month, the Trading Companies and Factions came together and agreed that it was time for a deeply uncharacteristic show of generosity. So was born
{LINK REMOVED}Double Rewards Week! They took turns in offering variations on doubled gold, reputation, Renown and Allegiance bonuses to all pirates for one day only, before a traditional Gold & Glory Weekend capped things off neatly.
The
{LINK REMOVED}Pirate Emporium took on an otherworldly look halfway through the month, when
{LINK REMOVED}February’s update brought not just PvP matchmaking improvements and miscellaneous tweaks and balances, but saw the
Infinite Depths collection phasing into view. A comprehensive collection it is too, with a ship set, costume, weapons and emote. The same theme extended to February’s freebie, the not-so-protective Armour Mock Emote, while sweet-toothed pirates were in for a treat of their own with the
{LINK REMOVED}Pancake Puzzler Emote as a free login bonus for the week around Shrove Tuesday. Where does it
go though?
News and Features We kicked off the month with our very own article bracing everyone for
{LINK REMOVED}Season Eight Community Day, then quickly followed it up with preparations for the prestigious Style of Thieves competition, by way of articles explaining the
{LINK REMOVED}rules of engagement and
{LINK REMOVED}Season Eight’s themes. The latest tournament has now finished, but it’s still good to read up on if you want to get your planning in early for the next bout…
February saw two new player Spotlights for you to enjoy. First up was
{LINK REMOVED}MiniMeMarcLee’s Community Spotlight, discussing his woodworking creations and how he sailed as one of the Pioneers of
Sea of Thieves. Then our Creator Spotlight zeroed in on harmonica harmoniser
{LINK REMOVED}LazyBuzzard, the conversation ranging from how he started streaming during the first Covid lockdown to his work in raising awareness of mental health, with a sprinkling of advice for anyone looking to follow in his footsteps.
The
{LINK REMOVED}Community Hub was also updated with fresh batches of fantastic player creations. In February we were snuggling up warm with treats like a
Company-inspired blanket and celebrating some of the phenomenal highlights from Community Day. Of course, there’s
another day worthy of note in February too…
Videos and Streams With Season Nine taking shape on the horizon,
episode 10 of our official podcast started off the month by looking back on everything that happened during Season Eight and what’s coming in the near future. And even if you’d rather avoid possible spoilers, you can still enjoy the team’s discussion about their… favourite days of the week?
Once we’d gotten over Mike Chapman’s baffling answer of “Monday”, it was time for
Season Eight Community Day! We weren’t about to let the festivities pass without getting involved ourselves, so a keen team of Rare team members headed over to the in-house Tavern to put on a
{LINK REMOVED}sneaky stream of our own.
By the time we hit the middle of the month,
Sea of Thieves News was back, giving us a hint of what would be coming up over the next few weeks and beyond. Lead Designer Chris Davies even stopped by to fill us in on the future of Adventures…
Closing out the month, we teamed up with SpecialEffect for
{LINK REMOVED}GameBlast 2023! Heading back to the Tavern for
{LINK REMOVED}another stream, we set crews against one another in an explosive battle over Gunpowder Barrels. Together, the community managed to raise more than £11,000 to help make gaming more accessible to people with disabilities – thank you so much to everyone who joined us!
Social Channels Amongst the excitement around Community Day, February also found time to host one of the most important social media events of the Season – the Style of Thieves competition. Players were tasked with dressing up their pirate in ways that reflected the four categories:
Historical Dress Up,
Athena Ambassadors,
Party Gear and
Repping Reapers. Winners walked away with their very own Fashionista’s Finery Gloves, and the knowledge that they really do have a Clothing Chest to die for.
Style of Thieves wasn’t the only competition to get involved with, of course. There were two #SoTShot draws this month, starting with a quick trip to
Hollywood for the cinematic
{LINK REMOVED}Movie Moments category. From there we wanted to carry on the camaraderie of Community Day, and thus came the
Friendship theme to help us all feel
{LINK REMOVED}warm and fuzzy. Skills lie elsewhere? Who’s up for an
island identification challenge? Maybe even
two?
In less competitive news, Twitter got creative with sharing their
approaches to piracy, alternative names for the
Chest of Sorrow and what this
goodest of boys should be called (
{LINK REMOVED}dogs being a particularly big deal on some channels). It wasn’t all peaceful though: elsewhere, we had
{LINK REMOVED}arguments over kegs, took
a stand on spelling and got salty over a
{LINK REMOVED}contentious Outpost. But the good news for a month centered on Community Day is that the
{LINK REMOVED}sea ahead is clear and nothing bad’s about to happen. Small mercies.
So that was February! For the shortest month, we managed to cram a lot in there and it doesn’t look like we’re slowing down even a little bit for March, so stick with us! If you want to follow along with everything that’s happening as it happens, hitch your Rowboat to our social ship on
Twitter,
{LINK REMOVED}Facebook,
{LINK REMOVED}Instagram,
{LINK REMOVED}TikTok,
YouTube or
{LINK REMOVED}Twitch, or join the official
{LINK REMOVED}Forums or
{LINK REMOVED}Discord. For now though, farewell! We’re off to chill out to some
undersea vibes in an attempt to retain our composure before Sea of Thieves’ fifth anniversary hits. See you then!
Previously in 2023:
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2023