Microsoft’s Rare is finally working on a new game: Sea of Thieves

LOS ANGELES — It took them long enough.

At Microsoft’s press briefing for the Electronic Entertainment Expo this morning, the publisher revealed that Rare is finally working on a new game called Sea of Thieves. The developer (best known for Banjo-Kazooie and Battletoads) described its pirate-themed action adventure game as a “shared universe” and the most ambitious game it has ever attempted to make.

The last new intellectual property that Rare worked on was Viva Piñata in 2006.

The trailer for Sea of Thieves opened up with a player exploring an island in first-person. They ran up to meet with three other players on a beach. The video then cut to them sailing a pirate ship, along with glimpses of finding treasure, meeting undead skeletons, and fighting other ships at sea. The game has a kid-friendly cartoon-like aesthetic.