Sea of Thieves is getting a battle pass and Seasons starting early next year Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Sea of Thieves is getting a battle pass and Seasons starting early next year And the Festival of Giving arrives next week. News by Matt Wales Reporter Updated on 3 Dec 2020 49 comments It's all change on the Sea of Thieves starting in January next year, as Rare's piratical multiplayer experience goes the way of countless other online games, adopting a new battle-pass-style progression system and new Seasons content release model. Before all that, though, there's some disappointing news for fans of the PvP-based Arena mode; Rare has announced that all future Sea of Thieves updates will focus on expanding the game's more popular Adventure mode, meaning that while Arena mode will still be available, all development will cease - a sad fate for what started out as a brilliantly chaotic, rapid-fire alternative to the core game, but one that struggled to overcome myriad technical issues and, later, an unfavourably streamlined reworking robbed of the original's adventuring spirit. That, then, firmly places the focus back on Adventure mode, and the debut of Rare's new Seasons model in January. As explained in its latest video update below, each season will last approximately three months (previously, Rare aimed for monthly content updates), and each will begin with the introduction of "a new experience or way of play". Watch on YouTube Sea of Thieves News, December 2nd 2020. In Season One's case, that's a new voyage type for the perennially unpopular Merchant Alliance trading company, this one casting players as detectives who must piece together clues across land and sea in order to locate a lost ship wreck and shipment. It's a welcome addition for the neglected faction, but hardly one that sounds substantial enough to sustain player interest for a whole three months until Season Two; instead, Rare is clearly banking on its new battle pass system to incentivise return visits. Sea of Thieves' existing trading company progression system will remain, but the new battle pass - which, incidentally, is completely free - will offer an additional set of goals designed to give players a "tangible sense of progress", even when engaging in shorter sessions. Each season will feature 100 progress levels - with associated rewards including player cosmetics, ship cosmetics, and some exclusive to pirate legends - that can be unlocked through exploration, adventuring, and combat. Rare is also promising a series of pirate trials "that celebrate...existing content and encourage you to play in new ways". In addition to the core battle pass, there's also a premium tier version, known as the Plunder Pass, which functions somewhat differently to those of other games. It's specifically intended to unlock discounts for existing items in the premium Pirate Emporium store (alongside "a few" exclusive items), meaning all main seasonal rewards will be free. Alongside all of the above, each season will bring quality of life updates, new Pirate Emporium additions, and new Twitch drops. Players can also expect one featured live event - with its own goals and rewards - each month, plus regular live events such as Gold and Glory. Admittedly, as presented, all this sounds like a whole lot of busywork and little in the way of substantial new updates; hopefully though, Rare can get the balance right and Sea of Thieves' wonderfully relaxed adventuring - one of its best and most distinctive assets - won't devolve into the kind of relentlessly stressful limited-time grind usually associated with battle passes. We'll know more in January, but first there's the small matter of Sea of Thieves' seasonal Festival of Giving event to look forward to, which starts next Wednesday, 9th December. This includes the return of the game's Advent-Calendar-style 12 Days of Giving and Gilded Voyages, plus Twitch drops, log-in bonuses, and more. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 3 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 10 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 3 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store