Sea of Thieves is about to have its biggest and most important year yet

We have not had this much new content ever since the game was released back in 2018.

Sea of Thieves turned six this year, and even though the number is not particularly unique, Rare has chosen to celebrate the birthday in the best possible way, and it is no exaggeration to say that 2024 will be the game's most important year since its launch in 2018.

We're not talking about the fact that it's on its way to PlayStation 5 (and probably Switch 2, when it arrives), but about a major refresh of everything with lots of new content just in time for season 12, with information about seasons 13 and 14 as well.

In a 20-minute presentation - which you can watch below - Rare tells us that we can look forward to completely new weapons, namely the Double Barrel Pistol and throwing knives, something that changes how Sea of Thieves will be played. The former can be used to fire two quick shots or charged up for a stronger attack, and is between the regular pistol and blunderbuss in damage and range. The throwing knives are more powerful, but the enemy can also use these against you. We also get a Grapple Gun, a kind of portable harpoon for those who want to get things quickly, or why not snatch chests from the hands of other pirates without a fight?

The most interesting feature is the new Horn of Fair Winds, which is exactly what it sounds like: you can simply summon wind. This can be used in lots of ways, including blowing away opponents, swimming like a motorboat, blowing out fires and even putting wind in your sails to reach maximum speed. Another thing that changes everything is that you will now be able to walk on your harpoon lines while carrying stuff. So jumping aboard an enemy ship with a powder keg or Chest of Sorrow is perfectly possible. There will also be ziplines on the islands to speed up how you move around them.

We can also look forward to a new shotgun-inspired cannonball and a kind of grenade that makes skeletons appear on your opponent's ship. Good luck managing sails, rudders, nailing holes, putting out fires, draining water, repairing masts and the like when there are skeletons walking around and attacking you at the same time.

Finally, we can announce something that will make all magic-loving pirates very happy - we will be able to have owls as pets eventually. Check out the presentation below, it's packed to say the least.