Did Sea of Thieves steal the show, or just some treasure?

Rare's swashbuckling adventure returned to Microsoft's E3 press conference this year with a new gameplay trailer.

The developer describes Sea of Thieves as their "most ambitious title yet" and it's certainly beginning to look that way. The pirate-themed first-person adventure was first demoed in 2015 and appeared to be heavily focussed on multiplayer, allowing you to explore islands and plunder them for treasure with friends, or sail your ship on the open seas. The latest trailer has given us a bit more of an idea as to what you and your motley crew will be getting up to.

The trailer opens with you scavenging a sunken wreck, as sharks circle menacingly below. You then see the crew spring into action, storing their hard earned loot and readying the ship to set sail. There seems to be a keen focus on exploration with the trailer showcasing some of the islands you'll get to explore on your adventures, as you try to decipher riddles that no doubt lead to treasure stashes.

The gameplay is still entirely focused around multiplayer and how you and your crew mates work as a team to solve the game's many mysteries. Whether it be fighting skeletons, firing your friends out of cannons, gathering loot and trading at outposts, Sea of Thieves seems to keep the action level high in its ambitious pirate game.

If you fancy yourself as a pirate of legend then take a closer look at the E3 gameplay trailer below.