'Sea of Thieves' release date, news and updates: Developers launch early access version for upcoming pirate game

During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2016, gameplay details were revealed for Rare Ltd's upcoming pirate-themed online RPG, "Sea of Thieves." The game developers have announced an Insider Program which gives early access to the title and shows fans what "Thieves" has in store.

In the video released on Rare's Youtube page, executive producer Joe Neate and engagement manager Bobby Lamirande discuss how fans have been asking about the game's development and how they want to see what features the developers are working on.

Lamirande says, "One of the things I think is going to excite people the most about the Insider Program is the possibility of getting involved with future testing phases for 'Sea of Thieves.'" He also goes on to say that the main purpose of creating an Insider Program was so that the developers can get a collected pool of players that can give them automatic feedback on the game.

According to reports, "Sea of Thieves" will be a massive online maritime universe where players can take the role of different pirates and sailors. The game will be chock-full of pirate adventure tropes like quests, rival pirate gangs, and hidden treasures.

The game is speculated to be coming sometime next year, which, coincidentally, will also see the arrival of one of yet another installment in one of the largest pirate movie franchises, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." Surely the release of the movie will have gamers in the mood for a swashbuckling pirate game.

As for the platforms that "Sea of Thieves" will be available on, it's said that the game is being developed for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows 10.

No official release date has been announced for "Sea of Thieves," but some expect it to come out sometime in 2017. Stay tuned for more updates.