Sea of Thieves‘ First Expansion, The Hungering Deep, Is Officially Out

As of today, May 29, the first large, scheduled content expansion for Sea of Thieves, The Hungering Deep, is officially out. With the release of the expansion, Rare looks to give players more to do in the interesting but lacking-in-content world of Sea of Thieves, and, last week, we detailed all of the new content coming in today’s expansion.

The Hungering Deep is now LIVE! Gather your crew, take to the sea and discover what awaits you. Good luck pirates, you’re going to need it! View the full release notes here: https://t.co/mskY0MoZLqpic.twitter.com/moW6Xbtp9B

— Sea of Thieves (@SeaOfThieves) May 29, 2018

It’s not yet clear if the release of The Hungering Deep has resulted in an influx of players, but given what is in the expansion, returning to Sea of Thieves seems like a rather fun endeavor. A concrete and linear narrative is not what Sea of Thieves needs and Rare seems to understand this because, while there is a limited-time campaign in The Hungering Deep, the rest of the new additions reward the player progression and emergent storytelling that come in a shared-world experience like what Sea of Thieves has to offer.

The best stories aren’t told in cutscenes or in exposition dumps—they are told between players as stories of acquired treasure and ill-gained ends are shared. Like all good folklore and myths, videogames urge their own version of folklore onto players. The story of a four-person crew felling the new megalodon that roams the deepest recesses of Sea of Thieves is a story that will grow and change as it is shared from player to player over party-chat, forums and the like. This is what makes Sea of Thieves so special —its simplicity and vast randomness forces players to find their own stories in the margins of a greater, far-less-personalized tale. In Sea of Thieves, we are all the feared and ghoulish Captain Flint as much as we are the stoic, regal commander Jack Aubrey (of the Patrick O’Brian nautical novels).

For every tale of betrayal and sword clashing on the high seas, there will be tales of camaraderie, failure and sheer humor. Sea of Thieves is the videogame equivalent of the intriguing anecdotes and mundane musings of normalcy that fill every great captain’s log.

Sea of Thieves’ The Hungering Deep is available now to all owners of Sea of Thieves free of charge, as all the game’s expansions will be. Check out the expansion’s trailer below and then raise the anchor, because the tide is right and there is plunder aplenty for everyone.