Where it basically had to respond, after being asked about Battle Royale by Game Informer - as part of an otherwise fascinating and in-depth interview. Where Sea of Thieves Design Director Mark Chapman noted, "We see the Battle Royale thing, but I think there will be opportunities to do that kind of thing differently. It’s interesting where you can take PvP in the game, but we’d want to put a unique Sea of Thieves spin on it and do something completely surprising."

Which also plays into how Rare has been listening to the community and designing new elements based on feedback. The Skeleton Ships in the upcoming Cursed Sails expansion not only introduces ghostly NPC ships roaming the seas, but in typical Sea of Thieves fashion once cleared of skeleton threats can be commandeered by actual players. So that ghost ship on the horizon might be full of people.

Also, Cursed Cannonballs sound fascinating. With Chapman adding, "These are essentially magical cannonballs that you can find that have cool effects on players and ships. They can make your ship heavier so all the holes on deck take on more water. There is a silence ball that prevents players from communicating together and there are ones that can jam the rudder or prevent the sails from being lowered."

The full interview also dives into the next expansion Forsaken Shores and confirms that the new location will exist on the current map, and will introduce new ways to play outside the existing voyage system.