Which introduced a lengthy story-driven campaign, fishing, cooking, and a bunch of improvements built on a solid year of updates to Rare's pirating high-seas multiplayer adventure game Sea of Thieves. As part of the Xbox Game Pass service the game has found continued interest from players too, with 2 millions players hoisting their sails after the massive April update.

Including us here at AusGamers. In fact we've been playing a tonne of Sea of Thieves over the past month, and have been genuinely impressed with just how much there is to do now. And how much of it still holds true to the promise seen at launch.

Which, as per our review, we noted, like the digital Nostradamus' that we are.

If the launch version is looked at as a foundation for more - Sea of Thieves becomes an exciting proposition. And a game that one could come back to time and again. Which makes sense when viewed as part of the Game Pass subscription service. As a standalone title there is a feeling of “is that it” that permeates several corners of the experience. The big question is, can Rare keep players interest in the long term. And what exactly does the content roadmap look like for Sea of Thieves. How soon until more, meaningful content arrives?

Not only limited to the Anniversary Update, recent content drops like the Forsaken Shores, Shrouded Spoils, and others have added much needed life, danger, and purpose to the game. It's still Sea of Thieves, and we love how unlike anything else it is. The new story stuff, called Tall Tales, are involved quests sending players off with little guidance as clues need to be deciphered from books and hand-drawn maps and diaries. No quest markers, no checkpoints, each Tall Tale is confident and excellent design on behalf of Rare that treats players like thinking problem solvers and wanna-be pirates.

We'll be revisiting the game in an updated review very soon too, so stay tuned.