I believe I am not the only one who has had childhood afternoons spent poring over pirate maps, so you can recognize the feeling that such moments ignited in you, the wanderlust that you yearn to pursue in life. Sea of Thieves may provide just such an adventure (or nostalgic memory reignited), and it could be the case that once started, you will be hooked (pun intended) for a long! Think about the longevity of this adventure game: 12 Seasons already! When I say "hooked for long," it is not just an expression... I really mean it!

Is Sea of Thieves Worth It?

One must consider whether its riches truly meet their mark because the Sea of Thieves is a pleasant and addictive game, however, you cannot avoid asking yourself: is it worth its very high price tag? Also, are there ways to mitigate the price, like getting it for less - think cheap Xbox games on key websites like G2A or Eneba - or something else? Very fast, to leave these questions behind, I can tell you that on Xbox, you can get an Xbox pass for less than $10/month and enjoy many games, including Sea of Thieves. And "yes," it could be found at a better price on the websites mentioned.

From Ship to Shore: Unraveling the Mysteries of Sea of Thieves Islands

Although its graphics might not appeal to everyone - with more cartoony than hyper-realistic depictions - that doesn't matter; what matters is how well they work together: vivid colors, meticulous attention to environment details ranging from tropical island palm trees swaying in the breeze to volcanic vents in Devil's Roar giving off fiery flares combined to form an undeniably stunning world that exudes with its distinct artistic style and captivating moments of breathtaking beauty or hilarious pirate misadventures captured as screenshots before! Never have I taken so many screenshots before in one game that captured such breathtaking moments of breathtaking beauty or hilarious pirate misadventures!

An Insanely Beautiful Piratical Playground

And yet this is only a taste of what lies beyond. Concealed alcoves, perilous shallows, and mysterious isles shrouded in mist make the Sea of Thieves realm, an ever-evolving tableau that never ceases to surprise with its breadth and diversity. Furthermore, weather patterns add another dimension: one moment being caressed by gentle caresses of zephyr wind while moments later caught up in a fierce battle against tempests wreaking havoc: all elements come together to make for an ever-evolving tableau which demands reverence as well as attention as continual adaptation by those living within its waters.

Are You Dreaming of Hoisting the Jolly Roger and Chasing Sunset across Endless Blue?

In conclusion, here's the salty truth: Sea of Thieves can be an amazing solo experience too, even if I would rather recommend it as a multiplayer PvP or PvE video game, offering plenty of solitude with which you can commune with the vastness of the ocean. Even if you buy Xbox adventure games for playing alone, solo sailing offers its poetry and it is a nice departure from many more commercial offers or twitch-shooters that conquered the market lately. This is a different kind of adventure, that develops slowly, but well, and communing directly with nature while learning to read waves, predict storms, and anticipate squalls is part and parcel with becoming a hardened pirate from sea's harsh conditions.

The Down with the Ship Commendation in Sea of Thieves requires sitting in your Galleon’s Captain’s Chair as it sinks. Check your status in the Pirate Log menu under Reputation, Bilge Rats, Buried Treasure. This guide will help you complete it.

Spawning and Sinking Your Galleon

As the description of Down with the Ship Commendation suggests, you must spawn in with a Galleon because both the Sloop and Brig lack the requisite Captain’s Chair. The easiest way to get this Commendation is to press Play from the main menu, then Adventure, select Galleon, select Closed Crew, Confirm and Assemble a Crew, then Set Sail. Once you load in, grab a stack of Firebombs from one of the Barrels on the Outpost and board your solo Galleon.

From here, you’ll want to sail your ship a short distance away from the Outpost you spawn at so that you’re floating in deep, open water. With that done, head to the lowest deck. Throw your Firebombs all over the floor and walls. When you run out, go to your Cannonball Barrels and refill. Repeat this process until you’re out of Firebombs. Your lowest deck should now be on fire. Eventually, the fire should cause your hull to breach.

Sit in the Captain’s Chair

It’s finally time to take a rest after going through the trouble of sabotaging your ship. Once water is flooding into the ship from the lowest deck, head to the Captain’s Quarters up top. Walk up to the Captain’s Chair at the back of the room. A prompt should appear to Sit in the Captain’s Chair. Simply hold X to sit down, and you’re good to go.

You’ll need to wait a few minutes for your ship to sink, which you can spend however you like. Eventually, once your ship begins the irreversible process of sinking, you’ll be kicked from the Captain’s Chair, and the Down with the Ship Commendation will unlock (you can’t actually stay seated in the chair as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean).

Down With the Ship Commendation Rewards

Completing the Down with the Ship Commendation in Sea of Thieves grants the following rewards:

• Reputation Boost: Increases your reputation with the Bilge Rats faction, helping you unlock further commendations and rewards.
• Cosmetic Items: Unique cosmetics, such as titles and clothing, that showcase your achievements and allow for customization of your pirate and ship​.

his is all you need to know about the Down with the Ship Commendation. If you need to obtain other commendations in the game, make sure to check our guides on how to get the Sleepover Commendation and the Faster Chef Commendation.

Microsoft is adding the ability to pre-download game updates before their scheduled release.

The feature, which is already available on PlayStation, allows you to download hefty game updates days before their release. Then, when the update is formally released, the update simply installs - meaning less wait time to get playing.

Microsoft has begun rolling out the feature to those in the Alpha ring of Xbox Insider testers, before it filters down to more people and eventually becomes public in the coming weeks.

Read more

Sea of Thieves, the piratical live-service romp from Rare, just topped the PS5 download charts in Europe following its debut on Sony's console.

The Xbox Games Studios-published title recently made the jump from Xbox to PlayStation, as part of Microsoft's plans to make more of its games multiplatform. Outside of Europe, it was also the third most downloaded PS5 game in the US and Canada for April.

Not bad, considering it only arrived on PlayStation towards the end of the month!

Read more

Sea of Thieves, the piratical live-service romp from Rare, just topped the PS5 download charts in Europe following its debut on Sony's console.

The Xbox Games Studios-published title recently made the jump from Xbox to PlayStation, as part of Microsoft's plans to make more of its games multiplatform. Outside of Europe, it was also the third most downloaded PS5 game in the US and Canada for April.

Not bad, considering it only arrived on PlayStation towards the end of the month!

Read more

Sea of Thieves, the piratical live-service romp from Rare, just topped the PS5 download charts in Europe following its debut on Sony's console.

The Xbox Games Studios-published title recently made the jump from Xbox to PlayStation, as part of Microsoft's plans to make more of its games multiplatform. Outside of Europe, it was also the third most downloaded PS5 game in the US and Canada for April.

Not bad, considering it only arrived on PlayStation towards the end of the month!

Read more

Microsoft’s decision to release some of its Xbox games on rival console the PlayStation 5 appears to be paying off, with Rare’s pirate adventure Sea of Thieves topping Sony's sales chart.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony revealed that Sea of Thieves was April’s most-downloaded …

So you want to be a pirate, eh? Well, what with today's double whammy of a PlayStation 5 release and the launch of Season 12 – bringing with it, among other things, the first new weapons since 2018 – now seems as good a time as any to discover (or rediscover, if you're a lapsed player) Rare's swashbuckling multiplayer pirate game.

And to mark Sea of Thieves crossing the murky waters of console exclusivity toward new egalitarian horizons, it has come down to me – someone who has spent so many hours in Sea of Thieves over the last six years that I may as well be a real pirate at this point – to take you by the hook and guide you through these stranger tides.

This isn't a guide, as such, so don't go expecting all your piratical questions to be answered here; instead, it's a more of a relaxed tour of some of Sea of Thieves' niftier, lesser-remarked features – the stuff the game doesn't really tell you about – that you might find useful and/or intriguing on your first few days inside the Devil’s Shroud. Here we go!

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One of Xbox's greatest treasures, Sea of Thieves has finally launching on PS5 and I, Iyaaaaarrrn Higton, have swabbed my poop deck and spliced my mainbrace in anticipation for this momentous occasion.

Sea of Thieves has actually been in open beta on PS5 for the past week and, according to Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie, "Sea of Thieves retains its signature charm - and should go down well with PlayStation players." Although he also noted that there were some networking issues that he hopes will get (eye) patched out for launch.

Thankfully, I experience exactly 'zero' network issues with the PS5 launch version of Sea of Thieves in today's stream (above) and, in answer to the question I posed in the headline, it handles really well! The game looks absolutely stunning on PS5, with special shoutouts going to Rare's magnificent water tech that constantly blew me away with how beautiful it was. Sunlight bouncing across slowly undulating water never looked this good!

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The post Set Sail With Sea of Thieves Season 12 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Following the successful launch of Season 12, Sea of Thieves developer Rare has pushed a new hotfix that fixes Guild functionality for all players and outlined which bugs will be addressed in the May update.

The May 2 hotfix for Sea of Thieves is a follow-up to Season 12's launch. The new season adds a new Plunder Pass, two additional weapons, and the ability to walk along harpoon lines. However, it also added a few glitches that weren't caught before the update went live. The biggest news from this hotfix is the return of full Guild functionality, which has been limited for the past week or so, with players reporting crashes and the inability to access the ships they'd pledged.

Sea of Thieves May 2 hotfix patch notes explained

As I mentioned, the biggest news from this hotfix is that it brings back full Guild functionality. Players couldn't see the full suite of pledged ships for a guide when trying to jump into a session. This was temporarily mitigated in late April, but full functionality has now been returned for all players. If you've been waiting for a fix to get back to your Guild, now is the time to hop in.

Game Heath fixes

When it launched on April 30, Season 12 created a few issues in Sea of Thieves. The following issues have been identified, and Rare is planning on having them fixed with the game's May update.

• Passive Megalodon encounters will soon be a thing of the past. The development team identified what was causing these, so the Megalodon should stick around and attack you in full force once the update is out.
• An issue with held gunpowder kegs that won't detonate after being fired into will be addressed.
• Right now, players can get stuck in a fast Throwing Knives cycle that sees them launch the knives faster than intended, but this will be fixed in May.
• The Bone Caller doesn't currently progress the Skeleton Squared Commendation, but it will with the next update.

Season 12-specific issues

At the time of writing, Rare is pretty happy with the state of Sea of Thieves Season 12. However, it has listed a few areas that it's keeping an eye on and might address with changes in the May update.

• Throwing Knives are pretty solid outside of the problem mentioned above. Right now, the development team is investigating the impact of having them stuck in intractable in your ship on boarding. As you can imagine, these could protect you or slow down boarding parties, which isn't intentional. At least, not yet.
• Bone Caller skeletons are revealing tucked players on ships, which is another unintentional feature that Rare may decide is fine or nerf entirely.
• Some players have reported that they can't reload their Double Barrelled Pistol, and once the development team can reproduce the issue consistently, it'll find a fix for it.
• Adding two new weapons to the game has impacted Sea of Thieves' combat. While there's nothing to report right now, changes will undoubtedly occur once a new meta begins to surface.

The official patch notes provide a little more detail and information on where to report bugs, but right now, it looks like we're all waiting for the May update before any big changes come along.

The post Sea of Thieves Season 12 hotfix returns Guilds functionality and outlines upcoming fixes appeared first on Destructoid.

Remember that bit in that Guy Ritchie film where Dexter Fletcher shoot a guy and then throws a glowing jar over his soldier that summons a bunch of skeletons to help him out? Me too! Must have been the direct influence for Sea Of Thieves' new Season 12, which launched earlier this week with a bang - from two smoking barrels! Among the additions in this season of the ever popular salty sea-dog open-world adventure are double barrel pistols. They deal less damage per shot but have higher rate of fire, and you can charge them up to fire both barrels at once.

On the other end of the weapon scale are new throwing knives, capable of sneak attacks, light slashes, or, you know, throwing. You can nab any throwing knives you see lying around, too, which is fun. But honestly, the Bone Caller tool (the aforementioned jar of skeletons, which has a great Jason and The Argonauts vibe) and the Horn Of Fair Winds are are probably more useful. The winds from said horn can make your ship go faster, but can also put out fires or crowd control enemies, or for some reason make you swim faster? I don't think that makes sense, to be honest, but the horn has limited uses so as not to make you an unstoppable wind machine.

Read more

Sea of Thieves stared off life as an Xbox exclusive, growing over time into a genuine hit with a large, committed community. Now, in an effort to increase its audience still futher, it's become a key part of Microsoft's multi-platform push. Yes, Rare's pirate co-op title is headed to PlayStation 5, kicking off with an open beta last weekend. So just how good is the port and to what extent does the experience vary between PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series hardware? This has been an interesting project for Digital Foundry, not just because of the new version - but also because we missed out on covering the game in its transition to current-gen hardware, so we also took a look at the game to see how it has evolved up against Xbox One X.

The most interesting place to start is with a look at the brand-new PS5 version. To reiterate, we looked at beta code, and there may be changes when the game launches on April 30th, but it does seem quite polished at the moment. First impressions suggest a game that is very similar to its Series X counterpart - but when we look a bit closer, there are some differences. Shadows look quite a bit different on PS5, with a sharper outline and more visible detail. This holds true both up-close and at a distance, with far away shadows resolving more softly on the Series machine. This is definitely an odd change, and falls in line with a similar tweak found in the PS5 version of Hi-Fi Rush.

If we boot up the PC version at max settings, the PS5 version more closely resembles the highest shadow quality option, though neither console is a perfect fit. The PS5 and PC exhibit similar looking shadow detail, with slightly stronger filtering on PC, but if we step down to the legendary setting, both consoles clearly offer better and cleaner shadow rendering. I can't quite tell if this just comes down to a difference in shadow filtering or if the PS5's shadow resolution has been upgraded relative to Series X, but it is very curious for sure. I tended to prefer the PS5's shadow rendering for what it's worth, though it's not a difference I'd fixate on outside of head-to-heads.

Read more

There's something quietly quite exciting happening, and I wonder where it's going to lead. Earlier this week, Grounded - the Honey I Shrunk the Kids backyard survival game - arrived on PlayStation, and at the end of the month (30th April) pirating game Sea of Thieves arrives on PlayStation too. It's a momentous occasion, even though it might not sound it, because we've never had games conceived as Xbox exclusives arrive on PlayStation before. It's an unprecedented new approach by Microsoft and, should it work, it could open a whole Mary Poppins bag of possibility.

I don't want to talk about the colder business case for it, because that's not what excites me. What excites me is what it means for players and, I suppose, for the games themselves. How wonderful it feels to be excited about these games again, which are now a number of years old. We first played Sea of Thieves in early 2018, and Grounded in mid-2020, and they were terrifically exciting then, but now they're not. They've been with us so long they've become familiar. No one's pulling you aside and asking you, raw enthusiasm in their eyes, if you've played them yet.

Well, not yet.

Read more

Booty called, and boy did we answer. Earlier this week, the Sea of Thieves team revealed that 40 million of us had embraced our inner pirate and set sail since the game's debut across Xbox and PC. We seas-ed the day, if you will.

Sharing this "amazing milestone", Sea of Thieves executive producer Joe 'Three Sheets' Neate acknowledged the game's "brilliant, positive and welcoming community, who continue to surprise and impress us with your creativity and antics out on the waves".

A lot of credit and thanks for this milestone also had to go to Sea of Thieves' development team, Neate added, "who've worked so hard to deliver over a hundred free updates since launch and have plenty more excitement and innovation on the horizon".

Read more

Five of the Best is a weekly series for supporters of Eurogamer. It's a series that highlights some of the features in games that are often overlooked. It's also about having your say, so don't be shy, use the comments below and join in!

Oh and if you want to read more, you can - you can find our entire Five of the Best archive elsewhere on the site.

There's a hole in your bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, there's a hole in your bucket, dear Liza, a hole. Thank you, thank you, what a lovely rendition. The humble bucket, a stalwart of our day-to-day lives. We use them to slosh dirty water around in, and we use them to wee in if we're going camping and don't want to venture out during the night. No, don't you? We all have a bucket, I'd venture to say, and we all use them, so it's only fitting that games should include them too. But which games have made them feel like more than just props? In which game are buckets the best?

Read more

Sea of Thieves stared off life as an Xbox exclusive, growing over time into a genuine hit with a large, committed community. Now, in an effort to increase its audience still futher, it's become a key part of Microsoft's multi-platform push. Yes, Rare's pirate co-op title is headed to PlayStation 5, kicking off with an open beta last weekend. So just how good is the port and to what extent does the experience vary between PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series hardware? This has been an interesting project for Digital Foundry, not just because of the new version - but also because we missed out on covering the game in its transition to current-gen hardware, so we also took a look at the game to see how it has evolved up against Xbox One X.

The most interesting place to start is with a look at the brand-new PS5 version. To reiterate, we looked at beta code, and there may be changes when the game launches on April 30th, but it does seem quite polished at the moment. First impressions suggest a game that is very similar to its Series X counterpart - but when we look a bit closer, there are some differences. Shadows look quite a bit different on PS5, with a sharper outline and more visible detail. This holds true both up-close and at a distance, with far away shadows resolving more softly on the Series machine. This is definitely an odd change, and falls in line with a similar tweak found in the PS5 version of Hi-Fi Rush.

If we boot up the PC version at max settings, the PS5 version more closely resembles the highest shadow quality option, though neither console is a perfect fit. The PS5 and PC exhibit similar looking shadow detail, with slightly stronger filtering on PC, but if we step down to the legendary setting, both consoles clearly offer better and cleaner shadow rendering. I can't quite tell if this just comes down to a difference in shadow filtering or if the PS5's shadow resolution has been upgraded relative to Series X, but it is very curious for sure. I tended to prefer the PS5's shadow rendering for what it's worth, though it's not a difference I'd fixate on outside of head-to-heads.

Read more

There's something quietly quite exciting happening, and I wonder where it's going to lead. Earlier this week, Grounded - the Honey I Shrunk the Kids backyard survival game - arrived on PlayStation, and at the end of the month (30th April) pirating game Sea of Thieves arrives on PlayStation too. It's a momentous occasion, even though it might not sound it, because we've never had games conceived as Xbox exclusives arrive on PlayStation before. It's an unprecedented new approach by Microsoft and, should it work, it could open a whole Mary Poppins bag of possibility.

I don't want to talk about the colder business case for it, because that's not what excites me. What excites me is what it means for players and, I suppose, for the games themselves. How wonderful it feels to be excited about these games again, which are now a number of years old. We first played Sea of Thieves in early 2018, and Grounded in mid-2020, and they were terrifically exciting then, but now they're not. They've been with us so long they've become familiar. No one's pulling you aside and asking you, raw enthusiasm in their eyes, if you've played them yet.

Well, not yet.

Read more

Booty called, and boy did we answer. Earlier this week, the Sea of Thieves team revealed that 40 million of us had embraced our inner pirate and set sail since the game's debut across Xbox and PC. We seas-ed the day, if you will.

Sharing this "amazing milestone", Sea of Thieves executive producer Joe 'Three Sheets' Neate acknowledged the game's "brilliant, positive and welcoming community, who continue to surprise and impress us with your creativity and antics out on the waves".

A lot of credit and thanks for this milestone also had to go to Sea of Thieves' development team, Neate added, "who've worked so hard to deliver over a hundred free updates since launch and have plenty more excitement and innovation on the horizon".

Read more

Five of the Best is a weekly series for supporters of Eurogamer. It's a series that highlights some of the features in games that are often overlooked. It's also about having your say, so don't be shy, use the comments below and join in!

Oh and if you want to read more, you can - you can find our entire Five of the Best archive elsewhere on the site.

There's a hole in your bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, there's a hole in your bucket, dear Liza, a hole. Thank you, thank you, what a lovely rendition. The humble bucket, a stalwart of our day-to-day lives. We use them to slosh dirty water around in, and we use them to wee in if we're going camping and don't want to venture out during the night. No, don't you? We all have a bucket, I'd venture to say, and we all use them, so it's only fitting that games should include them too. But which games have made them feel like more than just props? In which game are buckets the best?

Read more

As Sea of Thieves prepares to set sail for PlayStation 5, developer Rare has announced it has seen 40 million players since launching in 2018.

In a blog post, executive producer Joe Neate said Sea of Thieves’ 40 million player milestone comes from users across Xbox, Windows 10, …

Sea of Thieves, you might have heard, is heading to PlayStation 5 next month. It's a significant moment for all sorts of reasons – it's perhaps the biggest of the four Microsoft first-party titles recently confirmed for Sony's console, and it's also the first time developer Rare has released a PlayStation title in its nearly 40-year history – but it's also an opportunity for a whole new group of players to experience (and I say this as a huge Sea of Thieves fan) a wonderful, genuinely unique game. And with the multiplayer pirate adventure's 30th April launch on PS5 looming, I spoke to creative director Mike Chapman and executive producer Joe Neate about this latest milestone, the state of the game, and the team's big sandbox focus for 2024.

"We've had [the PlayStation 5 version] running really since late last year," Neate explains of Sea of Thieves' journey to a new console. "We've been testing internally and we're getting into the 'take home' stage, where we're playing at home with our little hands on the [PlayStation] controllers, and kind of going, 'This is insane!'". But how did the pair react when they first learned a PlayStation version was happening? "I think it's such a surreal moment we have this opportunity," Chapman responds. "Sea of Thieves at its core is about taking barriers away, allowing crews of would-be pirates to sail together on the waves, to share ships, and the fact we're now adding one more platform so people can create their ideal crew and enjoy the game, it's monumental, absolutely monumental - if you'd told me this back in 2018, I don't think I would have believed you. It's amazing."

"And having this new influx of players," Neate adds, "this new influx of feedback and perspective, for the strength and health of Sea of Thieves as an ongoing, evolving game, it's just a great moment… It's a really good time for Sea of Thieves."

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Sea of Thieves Season 11 is just around the corner, and players are eagerly anticipating the new content that will be arriving with it. In a recent video released by the developers, fans got a sneak peek at the exciting features and updates coming their way. With concerns about the game’s future lingering in the air, this new season aims to reinvigorate the player base and attract new adventurers to the open seas.

Here’s a rundown of what players can expect in Sea of Thieves Season 11:

• Diving: One of the most significant gameplay changes is the addition of diving. This feature allows players to fast-travel underwater, enabling them to reach their objectives more quickly. While diving cuts down on travel time and reduces the risk of encountering other players on the way, there’s a catch: any loot a ship may be carrying will be lost if the crew decides to dive. This adds an extra layer of strategy and risk management to the game.
  
• New Apparel and Weaponry: Along with the diving mechanic, players can look forward to a variety of new apparel and weaponry options. These additions will not only enhance the visual customization of pirates and ships but also provide new tools for players to utilize during their adventures.
  
• Updates to the Quest System and Progression: The quest system in Sea of Thieves is getting a revamp with Season 11. The new quest menu features a Discovery tab, where players are suggested quests and voyages based on their progression. Trading Companies, which previously offered limited voyages, have been rebalanced and now provide exclusive loot for those who embark on their voyages. Additionally, players can now level up with Trading Companies up to level 100, with a special reward awaiting those who reach this milestone.
  
• Fresh Appearance Items and Rewards: Season 11 brings a plethora of new appearance items for pirates and ships. From iconic outfits to unique ship cosmetics, players will have even more options to showcase their individuality on the high seas. Furthermore, there will be 100 new levels of rewards to unlock, ensuring that players have plenty of goals to strive for as they progress through the season.

With all these exciting changes on the horizon, Sea of Thieves Season 11 aims to give players more control and variety in their Sea of Thieves experience. However, some concerns have been raised regarding the introduction of diving.

Some players worry that this new mechanic may overshadow sailing, which has always been a core aspect of the game. The possibility of bloodthirsty ships suddenly appearing in close proximity to unsuspecting players has sparked discussions about balancing the gameplay.

On the flip side, proponents argue that the risk of losing loot while diving will deter attackers, as they would need to carefully time their assaults to maximize their gains. Time will tell whether diving proves to be a welcome addition or a contentious one among the Sea of Thieves community.

Despite the uncertainties surrounding certain gameplay changes, the buzz and anticipation surrounding Sea of Thieves Season 11 are undeniably good. With a new competitor, Skull and Bones, on the horizon, it’s crucial that Sea of Thieves remains fresh and engaging to maintain its dedicated player base and attract new adventurers to its immersive world of pirates and plunder.

FAQs

Xbox has announced a PlayStation release date for Sea of Thieves, its popular pirate live service game from British studio Rare.

PlayStation 5 players will be able to wishlist the game beginning tomorrow, 22nd February, ahead of its launch on Sony's console on 30th April.

A blog post from Microsoft tonight also confirms PlayStation dates for Pentiment (tomorrow, 22nd February) and Grounded (16th April) - the same as the dates confirmed for Switch in the Nintendo Direct earlier.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's business update that brought us confirmation Xbox will launch four console exclusives - for now - on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

But why did Microsoft choose not to name those four games (even though Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded and Sea of Thieves were immediately reported to be the titles in question)? What happened to the previously-reported plans to include larger games such as Starfield? And where will Microsoft draw the line for what to launch elsewhere? Right now, these four feel like something of a soft launch for Microsoft's multiplatform strategy,

As well as all that, we also discuss the news nuggets Microsoft dropped for the Xbox faithful - including mention of new Xbox console hardware this year and the proper next-gen Xbox that's still years away. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan.

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Following mounting reports Xbox is preparing for some kind of multiplatform future, Microsoft has confirmed it'll be bringing four previously Xbox-exclusive first-party titles to PlayStation 5 and Switch later this year, with more likely to come in the future.

Reports that Microsoft was preparing to release a number of first-party games on competing consoles - namely Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush - first surfaced at the start of this year, but it wasn't until last week's claims high-profile exclusives such as Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would also be going multiplatform that Microsoft broke its silence, promising to reveal more in a podcast this week.

And now, as reported by The Verge - which was pre-briefed by Microsoft ahead of tonight's reveal - Xbox gaming boss Phil Spencer has confirmed the company has "made the decision that we're going to take four games to the other consoles". Bafflingly, Spencer does not name the games directly, only saying two are community-driven titles and two are smaller games.

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Welcome to our live coverage of the big Xbox business update, where Microsoft laid out its plan to launch four first-party Xbox games on Nintendo and PlayStation platforms.

Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer, Xbox president Sarah Bond and head of Xbox game studios Matt Booty - the company's Triforce of gaming top brass - stopped short of officially confirming the quartet of titles set to go multiplatform, but reports online suggest those titles will be Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves and Grounded.

The podcast also included a brief mention of new Xbox hardware launching later this year, and a tease for the proper next-gen Xbox - you can read all of that below.

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Xbox has rolled out a new update for February, adding touch controls in remote play and more.

With this update in action, users will be able to play games without being tied to their console even if they don't have a wireless controller to hand. This is as Xbox remote play now supports custom touch control layouts on the Xbox app (via iOS, Android and Windows devices) for over 100 games.

"The same custom touch layouts available through Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) will now be available when remotely playing games from your personal console," Microsoft said. "This includes games like Minecraft Dungeons, Psychonauts 2, Sea of Thieves, and many more. Additionally, a basic touch control layout can now be used for most other games."

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Xbox president Sarah Bond reportedly told staff that "every screen is an Xbox". These words come ahead of Microsoft's business update later today, in which the company is expected to lay out its plans to publish some Xbox games on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms.

Bond was speaking at an internal town hall meeting, with several sources telling Inverse the exec went on to discuss Xbox's strategy of existing on multiple devices. She also spoke more on the company's ambitions to become the number one cross-platform gaming company, the sources said.

To illustrate this point, staff were shown images of this year's breakout hit Palworld across multiple screens. This included "tablets, TV screens, monitors, and handheld devices", the publication said.

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At Xbox, we strive to create games that inspire, entertain, and connect players from around the world. As a publisher and platform we are committed to meeting players where they are, by bringing more games, to more people, and on more devices. And at the heart of all we do are our players, and the vibrant communities that they build around the games they love. 

Today we are announcing that four fan-favorite Xbox games will be coming to Nintendo Switch and Sony platforms this spring. The studios that built these celebrated games have drawn on their multi-platform experience to open the worlds they created to even more players and communities.  

• Pentiment from Obsidian Entertainment, a truly unique, critically acclaimed, and award-winning narrative adventure game with a striking visual style inspired by history itself will be coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch on February 22.   

• Hi-Fi RUSH, the award-winning and beloved rhythm-based action game where the world syncs to the music from Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks will be coming to PlayStation 5 on March 19 at midnight UTC, with pre-purchase available on PlayStation 5 digital storefronts on February 22.  

• Grounded – also from Obsidian Entertainment – a co-op survival adventure phenomenon that has welcomed 20 million players into the backyard, will be coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch on April 16. Cross play will be supported across Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.   

• Sea of Thieves, the shared world adventure game from Rare, will be coming to PlayStation 5 on April 30 – and will be available to wishlist by PlayStation 5 players starting tomorrow, February 22. Having built a passionate community of more than 35 million players from around the world, the support of cross play for Xbox, PlayStation and PC will allow players to experience epic pirate adventures with friends on more platforms. 

These titles join franchises like Minecraft, Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo – which already reach players and fans on multiple platforms – and we’re excited for more players to experience these worlds and stories on more platforms.   

Whether it’s Nintendo Switch and PlayStation players surviving in the backyard together in Grounded, or PlayStation players getting to live a pirate’s life in Sea of Thieves, with cross-play, these multiplayer titles available will bring more people together and continue to grow their communities of players.  

Last week on The Official Xbox Podcast, we also discussed how our Xbox consoles will continue to provide a flagship experience for players. This is what it means to be a part of Xbox: 

• The biggest games in the world will be on Xbox.    
• Our first party games will come to Game Pass day one.  
• A robust and innovative multi-year hardware roadmap. 
• Compatibility with your library is a priority, inclusive of cross-play, cross-save, and robust cloud features.   
• Xbox will continue to help game creators find the biggest audience possible. 

And as we shared at Developer_Direct, earlier this year, players can look forward to Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and more on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Xbox Game Pass this year.  

There’s never been a better time to play, and we can’t wait for more players to experience these great games.  

The post New Platforms, New Players: Four Fan-Favorite Xbox Games Coming to Nintendo Switch and Sony Platforms appeared first on Xbox Wire.

After confirmations throughout the morning that Grounded and Pentiment would be headed to other platforms - and a leak that Hi-Fi Rush would be too - we now officially know the four former Xbox exclusives that will arrive on Nintendo and PlayStation consoles.

The latest reveal is that Sea …

As expected, Microsoft yesterday confirmed that four of their games are headed to rival consoles: Pentiment to PlayStations 4 & 5 and Nintendo Switch; Hi-Fi Rush to PS5; Grounded to PS4, PS5, and Switch; and Sea Of Thieves to PS5. It's nice to see barriers between systems coming down and all, and it'll likely have consequences of note to serious businessheads, but what relevance does this have for us as a PC gaming website? Well! Grounded and Sea Of Thieves will support cross-platform multiplayer, so we'll be able to play them with our consolatory chums. That's nice.

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's business update that brought us confirmation Xbox will launch four console exclusives - for now - on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

But why did Microsoft choose not to name those four games (even though Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Grounded and Sea of Thieves were immediately reported to be the titles in question)? What happened to the previously-reported plans to include larger games such as Starfield? And where will Microsoft draw the line for what to launch elsewhere? Right now, these four feel like something of a soft launch for Microsoft's multiplatform strategy,

As well as all that, we also discuss the news nuggets Microsoft dropped for the Xbox faithful - including mention of new Xbox console hardware this year and the proper next-gen Xbox that's still years away. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan.

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Following mounting reports Xbox is preparing for some kind of multiplatform future, Microsoft has confirmed it'll be bringing four previously Xbox-exclusive first-party titles to PlayStation 5 and Switch later this year, with more likely to come in the future.

Reports that Microsoft was preparing to release a number of first-party games on competing consoles - namely Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush - first surfaced at the start of this year, but it wasn't until last week's claims high-profile exclusives such as Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would also be going multiplatform that Microsoft broke its silence, promising to reveal more in a podcast this week.

And now, as reported by The Verge - which was pre-briefed by Microsoft ahead of tonight's reveal - Xbox gaming boss Phil Spencer has confirmed the company has "made the decision that we're going to take four games to the other consoles". Bafflingly, Spencer does not name the games directly, only saying two are community-driven titles and two are smaller games.

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Welcome to our live coverage of the big Xbox business update, where Microsoft laid out its plan to launch four first-party Xbox games on Nintendo and PlayStation platforms.

Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer, Xbox president Sarah Bond and head of Xbox game studios Matt Booty - the company's Triforce of gaming top brass - stopped short of officially confirming the quartet of titles set to go multiplatform, but reports online suggest those titles will be Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves and Grounded.

The podcast also included a brief mention of new Xbox hardware launching later this year, and a tease for the proper next-gen Xbox - you can read all of that below.

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Xbox has rolled out a new update for February, adding touch controls in remote play and more.

With this update in action, users will be able to play games without being tied to their console even if they don't have a wireless controller to hand. This is as Xbox remote play now supports custom touch control layouts on the Xbox app (via iOS, Android and Windows devices) for over 100 games.

"The same custom touch layouts available through Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) will now be available when remotely playing games from your personal console," Microsoft said. "This includes games like Minecraft Dungeons, Psychonauts 2, Sea of Thieves, and many more. Additionally, a basic touch control layout can now be used for most other games."

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Xbox president Sarah Bond reportedly told staff that "every screen is an Xbox". These words come ahead of Microsoft's business update later today, in which the company is expected to lay out its plans to publish some Xbox games on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms.

Bond was speaking at an internal town hall meeting, with several sources telling Inverse the exec went on to discuss Xbox's strategy of existing on multiple devices. She also spoke more on the company's ambitions to become the number one cross-platform gaming company, the sources said.

To illustrate this point, staff were shown images of this year's breakout hit Palworld across multiple screens. This included "tablets, TV screens, monitors, and handheld devices", the publication said.

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Xbox revealed its "vision for the future" today in a podcast featuring executives Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty, who did their best to articulate the path forward for the platform amid reports of plans to embrace a third-party publishing strategy.

The business update confirmed that four …