In case you missed it, Rare’s next game Everwild was cancelled as a part of some broad, far reaching layoffs at Microsoft that saw over 9000 people let go. It’s a blow to be sure, because what we had seen of the game (even though we never truly knew what it was) was gorgeous.
Its cancellation has got me thinking – about Rare, its place as a studio within Xbox, and of course, what they should make next. One question kept popping up in my mind. What should Rare do now – and should it be Sea of Thieves 2?
Before we get into it, I want to give a brief history lesson. UK-based development studio Rare is legendary. First founded in 1985 by Tim and Chris Stamper, Rare’s early years were formative for many Nintendo fans across the world, with games R.C Pro-Am, Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and of course, Banjo Kazooie – just to name a few. The developer is quite the jewel in the Xbox crown – or at least, it should be.
Microsoft acquired Rare in 2002, and in some ways, I think Rare has sort of struggled since then. They released titles for Xbox like Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero and Viva Piñata – all games I quite liked actually, but none of them truly took off with the broader Xbox audience. The Stamper brothers, who undoubtedly received a rather large pay out from the sale of their company, bowed out in 2007. Then came the ‘Kinect era’, with that awful corporate rebranding, Xbox Live Avatars and Kinect Sports. It all felt like a developer trying to work out what its corporate overlords wanted, and while Kinect Sports was undoubtedly one of the best games for Xbox’s motion-controlled platform, it wasn’t what hardcore Rare fans wanted.
In 2018, that all changed with Sea of Thieves. Here was Rare, back on form, ticking the corporate boxes quite succinctly with an online, shared world multiplayer Pirate game, but it felt oh-so-very-Rare in all the right ways. From the wonderful sea shanties, to throwing up in a bucket to chuck on your shipmates, to shoving your pet monkey – or even yourself – into one of the ships cannon, Rare had managed a wonderful blend of the charm they’re known and loved for, mixed with a online, live-service game that a modern video game industry, and likely Microsoft, demanded.
Rare have always seemed to want to make new things, rather than pump out sequels, and it’s certainly a commendable notion. But in the current market that is the video game industry, with Everwild cancelled, and the first ever ‘Sea of Thieves Direct‘ scheduled, perhaps it’s time to rethink that sentiment. I started day-dreaming about a full-fledged, all the bells and whistles sequel for Sea of Thieves.
I wants it.
I needs it.
Why Sea of Thieves 2 should absolutely be a thing!
Rare’s piratical sandbox launched a little light in terms of cargo in the hold back in 2018, but in its time at sea, it has gone from strength to strength, with the developers at Rare remaining committed to bringing fans of the game more of what they wanted. This open-world pirate adventure, primarily built around player freedom and ‘tools, not rules’ is bursting at the seams with content. Since release, it’s had multiple DLCs, updates, patches and expansions. I’ve always used the phrase “There’s plenty to do, if you’re new.”
Now, seven years later, I feel there’s a compelling argument to be made: It’s time for Sea of Thieves 2.
As someone who has over 38 days (that’s over 912 hours) in Sea of Thieves, I have ground that game into a fine, golden sand. Despite Rare’s numerous updates and content additions over the years, as much as it claimed to be ‘new content’, I always felt it was kind of the same content, just with a different wrapper. Now I want it to evolve. I want more.
More, More, More
Think about it. Sea of Thieves is running on Unreal Engine 4, and at this point, with the game still supporting Xbox One, it has all sorts of engine limitations that could be eliminated and improved upon with a vast and wide-ranging sequel.
First up, Rare could craft a bigger, more expansive world, and importantly (as someone who has experienced more than a few empty servers in my time) fill it with more players, manning a larger variety of player ships. While I’ve always admired Rare’s ‘tools not rules’ approach with Sea of Thieves, which side-stepped having traditional progression where the more you play, the better ‘stuff’ you have, a Sea of Thieves sequel could bring in a lot more player choice. Instead of having it revolve around the player, have it revolve around a player’s ship.
Beyond the existing three ships types and customisations, you could go beyond the cosmetic. Imagine bringing in permanent six-player Man’O’Wars to really shake things up. Or being able to choose the armaments for your ship, with different cannon types. Maybe even changing up the levels of armour to sacrifice speed for survivability.
When it comes to that incredible world, Rare could bring improved dynamic weather, and an even more gorgeous simulation of the open waves replete with genuinely simulated wildlife. We could give the Kraken a body!
We could have whales and dolphins. Storms could simulate actual wind, building up into enormous, powerful hurricanes with tornados and whirlpools out in the open ocean, making it all feel even more alive – and dangerous.
Lessons Learned
Beyond that, Rare have learned so much since Sea of Thieves released. They’ve somehow made the game feel and operate like a live-service title, and delivered one of the most incredible, immersive online co-op story campaigns I’ve ever played with Shores of Gold, not to mention some of the other franchise tie-ins like Pirates of the Caribbean or Monkey Island.
The narrative, lore-filled world of Sea of Thieves could be vastly expanded upon with a Sea of Thieves 2, with the team building a dynamic, persistent world that could change and evolve based on players actions.
Since 2018, Rare have shown an amazing level of passion and responsiveness when it comes to listening to and acting upon player and community feedback, but there are so many core issues that remain at the heart of Sea of Thieves as is, that still frustrate.
The first person combat has never really improved, with sword and gunplay being merely serviceable and the repetitive gameplay loop of voyages and lack of true content variety can only be truly addressed by redesigning some of those systems from the ground up.
A potential Sea of Thieves 2 would give Rare a lot of breathing room to expand without worrying about the constraints of the Xbox One, and future-proof the franchise for the next decade of video game pirate fantasy.
Bring Me That Horizon
Anyway – these are just some of my ideas for what a Sea of Thieves 2 could potentially be. Maybe it’ll never happen, and that’s certainly possible because right now, Sea of Thieves as it stands is a successful and thriving game across Xbox consoles and PC, that only just came out on PlayStation 5 last year. The team have just held their first ever Sea of Thieves Community Direct, and announced some interesting stuff.
And maybe that’ll be enough. But I can’t help it – I want a Sea of Thieves 2.
Of course, they could always get to work on a Banjo Kazooie remake…..Y’know, for the fans.
