Before you read this, I want to point out that I have well over 1,400 hours on my account. However, I just bought this game on Steam to write this review.

I personally wouldn’t recommend this game to others. The game simply isn’t what it used to be. The servers can’t handle the things thrown at them. This game has been using the same Unreal Engine since launch—version 4.10. This engine is way too old for the new updates, which keep pushing it to its limits. This is why hit registration is so inconsistent and why lag spikes occur far too often. I don’t think it’s fair to blame the developers for this entirely, since Rare is owned by Microsoft, but the content within the game is definitely their responsibility.

They keep adding too much for the old engine to handle, which results in poor server performance. On top of that, they rush everything, leading to a bad experience overall. For example, we were promised the mimic darts this season, and they still haven’t come out. The new tucking experience is super underwhelming. The new “Season of Mischief” feels like it hasn’t even launched. The features they’ve added don’t get used enough to justify their inclusion, and they’re just wasting space in an already overtaxed game engine. Half the problems we saw at release could’ve been fixed if Rare actually used their Insider program.

For those who don’t know, Sea of Thieves has an Insider program where players can test new updates before release and submit tickets based on their experience. Rare doesn’t seem to actually use this feedback. It’s baffling that they bother maintaining the program when the servers used to fund it could be put to better use elsewhere.

Even worse, when a Sea of Thieves partner, Flotsam, used the Insider program to comment on the game’s health, they deleted his comment. It’s insane how little they care about feedback, even from their partners who stream the game for a living. Speaking of partners, let’s talk about how Rare treats streamers differently. The Insider program has an NDA agreement that prevents participants from speaking about updates. The only requirement to join the program is clicking a checkbox on their website that says “I agree” or something equally meaningless. It’s way too easy to join.

Now, take Theb, a popular PvP-focused streamer who’s been creating Sea of Thieves content for four years. He was banned from the game because he jokingly promoted Minecraft cheats on his Xbox account. He never actually cheated but thought it would be funny to make a joke about fake cheats. Rare has since focused on making his life a nightmare by monitoring his livestreams and banning him for ban evasion. Meanwhile, actual cheaters can just create new accounts and bypass the Redbeard system easily. Rare even abused YouTube’s copyright system to try and take down his channel, which is his livelihood. Thankfully, this gained a lot of attention, and he eventually got his account back.

On the other hand, there’s Happyf333tz, another partner, who admitted to communicating with a 17-year-old girl while he was 34. Despite this, he’s faced no consequences and hasn’t even lost his partnership. This shows how Rare lets some partners get away with anything while others are singled out unfairly.

We’ve also seen regular players get banned for things like spawn camping or toxicity, but when a partner like Robraven spawn camps, there are no penalties. Arena players used to use spawn camping as a strategy, and even Rare’s own developers have done it. Yet, they’ll ban others for doing the same thing. Rare’s moderation feels entirely based on personal feelings rather than consistent policies. During the #freetheb movement, people who used the hashtag were blocked by Rare’s social media accounts. This alone shows how petty and unprofessional they can be.

Rare also prioritizes their partners unfairly. They have a private Discord server where partners can directly report players to the developers for cheating. This system has been abused countless times, leading to bans for players who were simply better than their accusers. Cheating has been a problem since the start of the game. Rare implemented Easy Anti-Cheat, but within a week, new cheating software bypassed it, making it nothing more than a logo on the splash screen.

Another reason I wouldn’t recommend this game is the events. The constant stream of events makes the game feel less special. Why bother playing when there’s some kind of bonus reward every weekend? It removes any sense of urgency because you know the event will be back soon. The “new” events are just copy-pasted versions of the old ones with no real twist to make them interesting.

The developers also seem to have given up on meaningful updates. If you spend five minutes reading the patch notes, you’ll see that most of the changes are just Pirate Emporium updates. Sure, some of the skins are worth spending money on, but most feel forced and uninspired. Many of them are just recycled from previous Plunder Passes, which undermines the incentive to buy them when they’re new.

I could write so much more about this game, from the exploit problem to how Rare’s employees clearly don’t communicate with each other. But this review is already long enough, so I’ll stop my rant here.

In conclusion, don’t buy this game. The developers are really silly.