With the impact of Microsoft’s latest layoff round and the cancellation of Rare Ltd’s Everwild, there was likely a lot of trepidation and concern for what’s next in the Sea of Thieves. Fortunately, a community direct presentation brought plenty of fresh information for fans of the pirating sandbox.

First off, the devs outlined the “refreshed approach to seasons” that will be coming when Season 17 launches: Seasons will still be three month-long affairs, but content release timing will be different, as the first month brings in new features and additions set to a theme or gameplay motivations meant to “reinvigorate” the sandbox, month two generally focusing on expanding live events, and month three promising a big world event meant as a “call to action” for players.

This leads neatly into what this means for Season 17, which will obviously introduce the Smuggler’s League with new Smugglers’ Run shipping missions that reward players for ferrying dangerous cargo, new hideouts, the return of the Reaper’s rowboat, and a chance to find smuggler’s cargo in shipwrecks and aboard skeleton ships. Month two’s live event will then focus on a “heist experience” where players will have to steal something from a fortress, while the month three world event will focus on updated skeleton forts that have new loot, new traps, and new mechanics. Rare even provided a quick peek at Season 18, which will have a specific focus on the Devil’s Roar area involving the Dark Ancients faction and the uncovering of hidden shrines.

The other major announcement is the introduction of a custom server feature known as Custom Seas for sometime in early 2026. Custom Seas will have a subscription model in order to support the system’s development, but it will grant players a wide assortment of “switches and toggles” that will let them control things like weather, the ships available to players, customized crew limits, and the ability to spawn things like the Kraken or treasure chests. Players will also be able to access a cinematic camera in case they’re looking to get their machinima on.

This feature will also allow a fleet of ships to be used in Safer Seas mode, though the restrictions for Safer Seas will still be in place; the devs basically call Custom Seas a way for players to make their own game modes, missions, or stories, but it also sounds like there will not be progression available, so likely don’t expect the ability to create a full tort PvE custom server without restrictions.

Finally of note is a mention about development focus. Rare promised at the opening of the presentation that they are working to build things that are more in-line with player desires, and it also promised that it has “set up our team structure in a way that now allows us to more elegantly deliver different types of content alongside one another, rather than having to sacrifice something in one area for the sake of another.”

Response to this presentation appears to be mixed, with players either expressing cautious optimism, openly wondering who Custom Seas is meant for beyond influencers, and some overall cynicism about whether Rare can hit its promised quality targets. The full broadcast awaits below, while an official synopsis is available here.