Here we are, halfway (and a bit) through 2022. Hasn't it been lovely so far? No. No, it's been a bit pants, hasn't it. But at least the Sea of Thieves is open for sailing when you need some escapism, keeping up an ongoing monthly bombardment of new stuff for you to do – and in fact June packed in pieces of two separate Adventures, the next phase of the current Mystery and the revelation of what's coming in the next Season. But before we say any more about all that, let's drop in the Content Update subheader...
Content Update
Much better. Yes, the start of June was all about the struggle for Golden Sands Outpost as Sea of Thieves' fourth time-limited Adventure, 'Lost Sands', entered its final week. After one last update on the numbers, the Adventure concluded on June 9th with the outcome declared in a special livestream – determining that that Reapers had been repulsed and Golden Sands was saved from forever being a foggy dump with rubbish shopping facilities.
A couple of weeks later, it wasn't quite time for Adventure 5 yet but it was time for the other monthly update, the one that brings in a month's worth of fixes and improvements and more creations from the clandestine lunatics who supply the Pirate Emporium – creations like the Prehistoric Plunderer ship set that nails a fossilised behemoth to the front of your ship. That's right! They're off their heads.
The month ended with the 'The Forsaken Hunter', our fifth Adventure, coming in all aflutter with the news that Merrick had mysteriously vanished! Mind, the cinematic trailer on the 27th gave some pretty good indications that he didn't just get drunk and fall off his Seapost, and the launch trailer on the 30th put paid to any remaining uncertainty over that. But the question remained for players to answer over the course of the Adventure: who did this? And why? That's two questions. And what happens next? Three questions, and you can't even answer that one yet without making something up.
News and Features
The biggest news of the month, of course, was the revelation of Captaincy coming to Sea of Thieves in Season Seven. In this announcement that dropped at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, taking the form of an actual song called 'Captains of Adventure' because why not, some of the main features – such as ship naming and personalisation, the ability to save loadouts and the services of the Sovereigns – were either teased by or heartily sung from a scroll that ended in the fourth-wall-busting declaration that Sea of Thieves has now passed a monumental 30 million players.
Also doggy-paddling in June's editorial pool was an Adventures Ahead article summing up relevant story events ahead of 'The Forsaken Hunter', then an Xbox Wire post on launch day to lay out what the Adventure entailed. A Season Six Community Day lookback dropped in at the start of the month and, later, there was a recap of our first Mystery so far to bring budding detectives up to speed. But #WhoIsT? No, not 'whoist', that sounds like some sort of weird dessert. And there was no skimping on player Spotlights either, with June lighting up many-time #SoTShot and Hat winner Sayuta and cinematic artisan TruEdits.
As far as goodies and giveaways were concerned, Pride Month saw a very fine Sea of Thieves shirt added to the Xbox PRIDE 2022 range, there were other shirts to encourage taking a stand on Golden Sands, and Titan Comics announced the bundled Sea of Thieves Origins collection coming in October. All that plus a mid-month Gold & Glory Weekend to mark the 30 million player milestone, and a login bonus for the occasion of our second Steam anniversary in the form of a ruddy big scar. Might not be the sort of bonus you'd appreciate getting in real life, but to a pirate it's like a fancy new tie.
Videos and Streams
Leading the charge in June was that Season Seven singalong announce trailer, performed with gusto by our regular trailer voice man and Video team grafter John. He'd pop back up later in the month shoving his own actual face all over your screen in our first Mystery So Far video, compressing all the key developments into a Scots-inflected rapid-fire recap for which, don't worry, we also provided captions.
Then there was the pairing of our cinematic and launch trailers for 'The Forsaken Hunter', spaced a few days apart as is the way these days to build some buzz before an Adventure kicks off. This one runs until July 14th, so if you act fast there's still time to take part in the manhunt for Merrick's assailant. And the next Adventure will be another finale to a three-episode arc, just like 'The Shrouded Deep' was to the first, so expect some drama leading on from the events of 'The Forsaken Hunter'...
Elsewhere in June, SoT News let our other Scottish Jon into your living rooms to get you all caught up, covering the latest from the Xbox Showcase and Pirate Emporium while dropping dates for end-of-month Adventuring. And the 'Lost Sands' results stream came at you live from the tavern at Rare, with Jo and James from the Community team joined by familiar faces Joe, Mike, Chris and a couple of Sea of Thieves Partners as the community-driven decision to #SaveGoldenSands was unveiled. Yes, we did make sure folks from both sides of the fence were on hand to ensure some on-air salty tears.
Social Channels
There was plenty for our channels to get playful with in June, notably the long-awaited announcement of ship naming and the meme-fest that followed (including John being pulled back into the recording booth for frivolous reasons). We also celebrated New Golden Sands getting its dues, bigged up a Social Swag bonus when 'Lost Sands' was at its peak, requested final judgement on the Lionfish Costume and asked what secrets you might have for the Order of Souls to suck out of your skulls. Just curious.
Social channels continue to play a key role in other areas: like furthering out-of-game elements of the first Sea of Thieves Mystery, with a shift in June as music box clues made way for a note leading players to the next stage of their hunt for answers. They're also invaluable for shouting out Community Hub updates, as new batches of player creations earn the Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame every couple of weeks, and #SoTShot results, with Golden Hour Sails going to a clutch of Instagram and Twitter winners on the Rivalries theme before June's sunlit second theme set up shop in The Shores of Plenty.
Meanwhile, the other hashtags we use 'on the regular' brought in #TriviaTuesday treats for the lorehounds (on subjects from Sea Forts and shanties to the Singh siblings), #SoTGear selections for the collectors (Servant of the Flame Cutlass, Golden Gatherer Merchant Sail and a timely tip of the hat to the Fallen Sea Dog Lantern), and #SundayVibes settings for marauders with more chill than most (taking in trips to Sanctuary and Plunder Outposts, with an additional stop to watch a shipwright do overtime to really make sure those nails were in properly).
And that image serves as a timely if slightly disrespectful end to proceedings here today – but if the combination of feature teases and sass appeals to you, get more of it without waiting for a round-up by following Sea of Thieves on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Twitch, then indulge in diverse antics in the official Forums or on Discord. Anything to avoid going outside if it's as hot as it is here in the UK, because your face could melt right off your head, and that's no way to discover you've been some sort of implausible pirate robot this whole time.
Previously in 2022:
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: May 2022
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2022
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2022
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2022
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2022