Rare announces the closed beta dates for its upcoming co-op open world pirate game Sea of Thieves, which will give some players a chance to play the game early.
Sea of Thieves currently stands as one of the biggest Xbox One console-exclusives of 2018, and while its full launch isn’t until March 20, fans will have a chance to try it out beforehand. Rare has announced the closed beta dates for Sea of Thieves, which will be accessible from January 24 to January 29.
Since Sea of Thieves is running a closed beta instead of an open one, not all gamers will be able to participate. As it stands, there are two ways to gain access to the Sea of Thieves beta. The easiest way is to pre-order the digital version of the co-op pirate game through the Xbox Store. Anyone that has pre-ordered it physically will need to redeem their code for the Black Dog cosmetic pack before the beta will appear in their game library.
The other way to gain access to the Sea of Thieves closed alpha is by being a member of the Sea of Thieves Insider Program before December 1,2017. Unfortunately for anyone that joined the Insider Program on December 1 or after, they will not be granted access to the game’s upcoming closed beta.
It’s unclear at this point what the closed beta for Sea of Thieves will consist of, but we do know that it will be tailored specifically for the beta experience. This means closed beta participants likely won’t have access to the entirety of the open world that the full game will bring to the table in March.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how many people participate in the closed beta for Sea of Thieves, and if it convinces Rare to run an open beta down the line as well. If Rare does decide to host an open beta for Sea of Thieves and fans enjoy it, it could result in positive word of mouth that will keep the game from fading into obscurity.
Microsoft will want to take every measure possible to make sure Sea of Thieves is a hit. After all, it is one of the few big console exclusive games releasing for the Xbox One in 2018 (that we know of), and it has been in development for quite awhile, meaning it could be a huge financial disappointment if it flops. Microsoft seems fairly confident in the title, however, as it has been supportive of the project since it was announced at E3 2015, and has even gone as far as to create a glow in the dark custom controller for it.
Sea of Thieves will launch on March 20 for PC and Xbox One.
