Sea of Thieves: 2026 Edition — Sea of Thieves Release Notes – 3.8.1

Custom Seas

Build new game modes to challenge your friends, record unrivalled cinematics and experience the Sea of Thieves like never before! To learn more about this Season’s headline features, head over to our dedicated Season 20 page.

Emoting with Free Camera

• Players are now able to choose an emote and enter Free Camera mode, allowing them to perform the emote while accessing the full camera controls.

Pirate Practice Preset

• A new official Preset has been added, providing players with quick access to an experience set up for swift practice runs through World Events, naval battles and more.

Session Join Code Protection

• When entering a Join Code to access a custom session, the digits will now remain hidden to prevent the code from being shared with others potentially viewing. The code can also be revealed and hidden at any time while being entered.

Gameplay Improvements

Bone Caller Balancing

• Bone Callers used to attack other crews’ ships have been rebalanced and are now dynamic based on ship size. When thrown, each will now summon one skeleton on a Sloop, two on a Brigantine and three on a Galleon.

• No changes have been made to Bone Callers used defensively on the crew’s own ship, and they will continue to summon three skeletons on all ship sizes or when used on land.

Water Splash Improvements

• Firing ranged weapons into the water now results in a satisfying visual and audible splash.

Last Ship Standing – Shrinking Battle Bounds

• While the Battle Bounds will continue to shrink in stages early in the battle, the final area will no longer remain static during the final phases of the fight.

• Crews will now find that at the 25-minute mark, the final area between the rocks will slowly shrink over the course of 10 minutes, forcing the battle towards an explosive close.

Last Ship Standing – Retrieving the Spoils of Battle

• Any jettisoned resource barrels, Storage Crates or Emissary Flags released from sunken ships now have seagulls circling above them, to make them easier to locate during the fight.

Last Ship Standing – Winners’ Grace Period

• After besting their rivals to become the Last Ship Standing, winners will now find that the portal will not appear until they sail away from the final combat area. This change has been implemented to address crews being prematurely removed from the area.

• Winners are still returned to the High Seas after 10 minutes, giving them plenty of time to collect their spoils.

Last Ship Standing – Diving with Emissary Flags

• Victorious crews claiming the Emissary Flags of their rivals will now be able to return to the High Seas and dive again into their next battle, and continue to carry their Flags as trophies into subsequent matches.

Commendation Improvements

A range of legacy Commendations have become increasingly difficult to achieve over time as the game has evolved. As part of this update, these Commendations are being extended to support additional methods of progression.

Merchant Alliance Commendation Improvements

• Merchant Alliance Commendations that task pirates with recovering various Resource Crates and resources have been reworked to provide a more predictable way for players to progress.

• Four new Commodities introduced to Merchant Trade Routes give players new ways to progress the following Commendations in addition to the original requirements:

  Merchant Forager – Fruit Crates or Crates of Unprepared Ingredients

  Merchant Shipwright – Wood Crates or Crates of Crude Repair Materials

  Cast Iron Merchant – Cannonball Crates or Crates of Unwrought Munitions

  Black Powder Merchant – Gunpowder Barrels or Crates of Unprocessed Gunpowder

Miles Sailed Commendation Improvements

• Trading Company Commendations that require players to sail with an active Voyage have been updated, and will now also progress when the crew is sailing on behalf of the Company as an Emissary. These Commendations include:

  Sailor of the Gold Horizon – Sail 1000 nautical miles on Gold Hoarders Voyages, or with their Emissary Flag raised.

  Sailor of the Whispering Bones – Sail 1000 nautical miles on Order of Souls Voyages, or with their Emissary Flag raised.

  Sailor of the Merchant Alliance – Sail 1000 nautical miles on Merchant Alliance Voyages, or with their Emissary Flag raised.

  Sailor of Athena’s Fortune – Sail 1000 nautical miles on Athena’s Fortune Voyages, or with their Emissary Flag raised.

  Hunter of the Wide Sea – Sail 1000 nautical miles on Hunter’s Call Voyages, or with their Emissary Flag raised.

  Sailor of Scorching Seas – Sail 1000 nautical miles on Reaper’s Bones Voyages, or with their Emissary Flag raised.

Faction Battle Commendation Improvements

• Faction Battle Commendations that require crews to cash in their Streak have been reworked so that they still progress when crews remain battling and win battles with their active Streak. These Commendations, for both the Servants of the Flame and Guardians of Fortune, include:

  Ferocious Warrior – Reach the Allegiance Streak to become a Champion or win battles as a Champion.

  In His Name – Reach the Allegiance Streak to become a Champion or win battles as a Champion after the Ritual of the Flame.

  Best of the Best – Reach the Allegiance Streak to become a Champion or win battles as a Champion.

  Pretty Good at This – Reach the Allegiance Streak to become a Champion or win battles as a Champion after the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune.

Burning Blade Commendation Improvements

• The Playing the Part Commendation has been reduced to requiring a single Burning Blade returned with 8 or more Rituals (down from 10 Burning Blades returned).

• The Feeding the Fire Commendation has been reworked so that it progresses when crews continue retrieving Rituals with their active streak:

  Feeding the Fire – Reach a streak of 4 Rituals or complete Rituals after reaching that streak in command of the Burning Blade.

Events

Bilge Rats Weekender (August 14th – August 17th)

• New Challenges task crews on High Seas with performing high-flying stunts, Ashen Lord antics and assists for other crews. Don’t forget to check in with Larinna for more details on the Weekender and the location of the next Bilge Rats Firework Display!

• Reaper Gunpowder Runs return as part of this Weekender, bringing back an explosive time-limited Voyage for crews sailing the High Seas. Handing in Gunpowder Barrels, Stronghold Gunpowder Barrels and Kegs of Ancient Black Powder provides big boosts to gold and reputation payouts, while Event Goals offer opportunities to earn those sought-after Doubloons.

• The Black Market will receive new stock during the Weekender for players with Doubloons to spend:

  Famous Pirate Shirt and Hat

  Bloodstone Dragon Trousers

  Spider's Venom Eyepatch

  Master of the High Seas Boots

  Hungering One Hunter's Belt

  Pegleg of Boneward Blade

  Shadow Tide Suave Hair

  Touch Grass Emote

  Devilish Duchess Dress (requires Pirate Legend status)

• The Smugglers’ Market will also have new items in stock for Doubloons, the contents of which will remain hidden until Duke is discovered in his new location!

Emissaries of Fortune (starting August 5th)

• A new regular Event begins in August, boosting Emissary rewards for crews representing the various Trading Companies on the seas.

• For 24 hours every Wednesday (starting 10am UTC), players sailing as Emissaries will receive a generous additional reward multiplier per Grade, stacking on top of existing bonuses!

Outpost Cosmetics

New Outpost Stock!

• The Outpost shops now offer the remaining items to complete the Silver Coin clothing set, along with the Lantern and Spyglass, all available to purchase with gold.

Pirate Emporium

Show off your personal style with purchases from the Pirate Emporium! Pick up exclusive cosmetics such as ship liveries, costumes, weapons, pets and emotes using your Ancient Coins, purchasable with real money. Head to the Pirate Emporium to browse and buy the latest additions!

New Items – Now in Stock!

• Smouldering Pegasus Ship Collection

• Smouldering Pegasus Weapon Bundle (Cutlass, Pistol, Blunderbuss, Eye of Reach)

• Smouldering Pegasus Costume Set (with and without beard)

• Pocket Lizard Emote

• Palm Tree Wave emote – now returning for free!

Updates

Mass Invite Protection (PC Only)

• Streamer Mode Support has now been expanded and provides controls for creators on PC to protect from mass invites while in the front-end menu.

• Players can now mute ‘Front End Invite Notifications’ and will find any received invites no longer block navigation through the menu and appear filtered at the top of the screen.

• In addition, players without this setting enabled will find that after receiving multiple invites in quick succession, the invite notification now provides an option to temporarily mute further invites for that session.

Fixed Issues

Gameplay

• After purchasing supplies from the Merchant Alliance or Hunter’s Call, players attempting to redeem the items will now find that all purchases are placed on the ground nearby for easy retrieval. Alongside this improvement, players should find that redeeming purchased supplies is much more consistent.

• After diving, crews should no longer experience scenarios where ship interactions on other rival ships become unusable. These can include but are not limited to non-interactable Ammo Crates, missing cannons, empty resource barrels or missing Quest Tables.

• After diving into Faction Battles, players should no longer find weapons and equipment in their loadout may become unusable or switch to different cosmetics than those chosen at the Armoury.

• Ancient Megalodons defeated during their bite attack should now consistently release their rewards into the sea to be recovered by victorious players.

• Ancient Megalodons should no longer appear near the location of active Faction Battles.

• Treasure left at sea for a period of time before being retrieved will now have its sink timer reset, ensuring it remains floating for the full duration if dropped into the sea again.

• Rowboats should now persist between sessions after being attached to a Captained ship.

• Waves of skeletons summoned during the Fort of the Damned should no longer appear beneath the ground, and should now consistently appear in areas where they can engage in combat.

• During Faction Battles, Emissary Flags released from crews who are destroyed by the Battle Bounds now appear as being won in battle.

• The Cannon of Rage should no longer disappear when a player carrying a cannon attempts to pick up another.

• Blowpipe darts should now correctly apply their effect even if a player switches weapons while the dart is in flight.

• Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons on a player-controlled Burning Blade should now reappear in the correct numbers when killed.

• During the Legend of the Veil Voyage, cannons on the Sea Fort will now defend against approaching ships.

• Merchant Alliance Tutorial Voyages now complete correctly when handing in Chicken Coops, regardless of where the tutorial was started.

• Crews pledged to a Faction from the Hourglass of Fate who choose to scuttle will no longer be shown the option to requeue.

• Tridents of the Banished now have a chance to be found washed up on islands across the seas.

• Players will now make progress in the Dance Off Danger Commendation when making Order of Bone and Blade Skeletons dance.

• Captains are now limited to placing one ‘Stones of Siren Power’ Ornament on Trinket spots.

• The pillar image is now removed from the map once the correct pillar is completed during the Search for Ancient Secrets Voyage.

• The Eternal Fighter Commendation now progresses when an Eternal Guard is defeated by skeletons summoned from a Reaper's Chest.

• ‘Shores of Gold’ – Crews reaching the Gold Hoarder at the end of this Tall Tale will now find they can move and attack as intended.

• ‘A Pirate’s Life’ – While players are aboard the Ferry of the Damned, the ship’s cannons remain locked until released by the Ferryman.

Custom Seas

• Various improvements have been made to the UI menu flow across the Command and Quick Command Menus to provide usability improvements, text and localisation improvements and UX fixes.

• With ‘Hide Gamertag From Me’ enabled, the scoreboard now correctly hides player gamertags.

• The player’s gamertag no longer appears in the top-right corner of the first-time Custom Seas introduction.

• Ancient Skeletons no longer appear naturally in Private Sandbox sessions.

• Enemies can no longer be spawned on the Ferry of the Damned.

• When using the scoreboard, players’ final score is no longer able to exceed the score limit.

• Quick Sail/Fly controls will now be hidden when using the ‘Hide Menu’ option.

• The time of day now updates live, with a clear indicator, when a new time is selected.

• The current location indicator for fog and storms now appears without delay when a new location is selected.

• All Hunter’s Call reputation options are now greyed out when the Trading Company is set to Off.

• If the host closes the game in a lobby, non-host players are now removed after 10 minutes.

• The fog location can now be moved to an island in a different region.

• When activating a new World Setting, all audio should now be present.

• With the Expanded Ship Supplies switch enabled, mangoes now appear in the ship's food supplies.

• Friendly Fire now correctly applies flinch, knockback and controller vibration feedback.

• With Opposing Crew Damage disabled, melee damage no longer triggers controller vibration and camera shake.

• Fast Travel now correctly displays an error message when attempting to teleport a player to themselves or when on the Ferry of the Damned.

• The island filter when choosing a Fast Travel destination now cycles through all categories.

• Flying now moves upward and downward at a consistent speed.

• Flying players are no longer pushed around by earthquakes in The Devil's Roar.

• Attempting to repair a ship that has passed the point of no return now correctly shows that it can no longer be repaired.

• Ships no longer rotate unexpectedly after Fast Travel or Quick Sail.

• The My Crew page now consistently displays all crew members correctly.

• Custom Seas Presets can now be renamed before a Preset is selected.

• Players can now open the radial menu while emoting or using Disguises.

Custom Seas – Free Camera

• Using the Free Camera while putting on a Disguise no longer leaves the player stuck flying.

• Activating the Free Camera while walking no longer causes that input to repeat once the camera is closed.

• When activating the Free Camera aboard a moving ship, the player now remains correctly locked to the ship.

• The Free Camera now correctly hides the player's shadow when ‘Show Pirate’ is turned off.

• On a controller, the Free Camera now rotates at the correct speed while locked onto a target.

• When using the Free Camera, effects applied to the player should no longer also be applied to the Free Camera.

• Deed completion notifications earned while using the Free Camera are now shown after exiting that mode.

Custom Seas – Legendary Locations

• At Legendary Locations, ships are no longer thrown into the sky if they block a spawn point that will be used by ships added to a session.

• Players entering the Glorious Sea Dog Tavern simultaneously now move correctly into the location.

• Players entering the Glorious Sea Dog Tavern are no longer left with fog or underwater visual effects on screen.

• Players now sit correctly on the chairs inside the Glorious Sea Dog Tavern.

• Footsteps on the rugs inside the Glorious Sea Dog Tavern now play the correct sound.

• Taking a mermaid at Legendary Locations when no ships are present no longer results in endless loading.

• Merfolk Statues found within the caves at Tribute Peak now return players to their ships as intended.

Last Ship Standing

• Further improvements to matchmaking have been made to address issues that were causing crews to become stuck beneath the waves when waiting for rivals or experience a black loading screen at the start of battle.

• After losing a battle, crews with crewmates still on the Ferry of the Damned should no longer experience a Cashewbeard error and find themselves disconnected from the game.

• Crews waiting for rivals beneath the waves are now able to freely load the ship’s cannons and restock their ammo from the onboard Ammo Crate.

• Following a win, the Battle Bounds will now return to the starting size, allowing players to retrieve any items before returning to High Seas while preventing access to unintended areas of the environment.

• Flags will now display correctly as won in battle if a player equips the flag before voting to dive to Last Ship Standing.

• Players can no longer scuttle their ship while sailing beneath the waves into a battle.

• The Battle Bounds ship creak audio is no longer briefly heard when loading into the winners' tunnel.

• The Nigh Unsinkable and A Sunken Century achievements now progress during Last Ship Standing battles.

• The Extinguished Commendation now progresses when its requirements are met in Last Ship Standing.

• Various improvements have been made to the environmental design surrounding the wreck at the centre of the battle.

Visual and Audio

• Players should no longer find their pirate appears invisible in menus or their cosmetics missing in-game.

• Players crouching and standing repeatedly should now consistently appear in the correct stance when viewed by others.

• Players now appear with the correct weapons when performing the Covert Weapon Pose Emote.

• Players climbing inside the Shining Pegasus Cannons now appear correctly when viewed by others.

• Equipping the Courage of Ca