Oh yes friends, it’s that time once again. May might have breezed past in the blink of an eye, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t do our best to absolutely cram it with all kinds of content for you to enjoy. And as always, we wanted to provide you with a full round-up of everything that you might have missed, so let’s just get right to it…
Content Update
The beginning of May was shrouded in Mystery. After an initial heads-up that something strange was afoot, the first of several letters from the shadowy ‘H’ was delivered to the Gold Hoarders. Filled with riddles, the note – and those that followed – led pirates down a twisting path to uncover a series of codes and in-game Voyages. Though three keys have been found at the time of writing, The Hoarder’s Hunt is not yet over…
Something that came with far less uncertainty attached was the May content update! We were so keen for you to know all the details, in fact, that we ensured the traditional set of release notes was ready to go alongside the usual curated collection of fixes and improvements, new player reporting tools and some efficient new Merchant Alliance gear at the Outposts.
The Pirate Emporium saw a fresh wave of cosmetics in May’s update too, bringing a range of new costumes, pets and Trinkets straight out of classic crossover Sea of Thieves: A Pirate’s Life. This stock refresh also saw the return of Season Six’s Plunder Pass set, the Spring Blossom collection, now with additional weapons and a fishing rod to round out the look. A new Mystery also meant new merch, with a range of Hoarder’s Hunt designs popping up in the Rare store through the month.
News and Features
We went into the month of May thinking about June, strangely. Specifically, we’d turned our attention to the upcoming Captain’s Week Event and with it an overhaul to the existing Milestone progression system. To fill you in on all the coming changes and to make sure you had an opportunity to prepare, we made sure to run you through all the details early in the month.
With everyone suitably set for the future, it was time for a fashion show! May heralded the latest round of the prestigious Style of Thieves competition, where pirates show off their best looks in the hopes of snagging a pair of the exclusive Fashionista’s Finery Gloves. We revealed Season Nine’s themes early on to ensure everyone had time to put together the perfect outfit, along with outlining the corresponding entry deadlines. More on that later.
‘Dark Descent’ was May’s addition to the streamable Sea of Thieves soundtrack, while we also took a moment to celebrate the classic ‘We Shall Sail Together’ passing a mighty 10 million plays on Spotify! Over in community news, we weren’t about to leave you without some new Spotlights to explore: famed creator LDSylvr spoke about his experiences organising community events, then we checked in with avian enthusiast and relentless bird requester Owlet for a conversation that was mostly not about owls. Mostly.
Videos and Streams
With The Hoarder’s Hunt taking place over the month, we were far from short of videos to share with you. At the very start of May we dropped a short teaser, then followed it up with a more in-depth look at how the Mystery would actually work.
When the first letter from ‘H’ arrived, we added a launch trailer to the mix, before later kicking off Stage 2 with one of the strangest livestreams we’ve ever had the pleasure of hosting. Even then, we still weren’t done! As we moved into Stage 3, we hopped back in to catch you up on the Mystery so far and possibly sprinkle in a few clues for the most observant pirates.
And, just in case all of that wasn’t enough to keep you going, the last weekend of the month allowed Twitch viewers to bag the first batch of items from the Eastern Winds Ruby collection to fill out their Equipment Chests – and we even managed to find time to bring you two entire episodes of Sea of Thieves News. Honestly, you’d think we never let the Video team go home or something.
Social Channels
After the theme reveal earlier in the month, it was little surprise that one of the biggest social media events of May was the Style of Thieves contest. With four themes to get through – RPG Classes, Romantic, Spring Style and The Elements – we spent several days mid-month being inundated with some of the finest fashions the seas have ever seen. Ultimately though, winners had to be found, and as May drew to a close we picked out a handful of entries that stood out from the crowd.
With the weather warming, this month’s #SoTShot competition set our minds to summer holidays and sunshine with a delightfully whimsical Travel Poster theme. And at the same time, the Community Hub granted eight artistic members of the community their very own Hats of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame for some exceptional creations.
After so many competitions and giveaways, we took a five-minute breather with a trip to a coffee shop, before jumping right back into the thick of it with weekly #TriviaTuesday posts and an illustrated look at a selection of Season Nine stats so far. We briefly returned to the world of fashion for a discussion of favourite clothing sets, then moved on to acknowledging adventures in another kingdom and comparing good luck rituals. Do you have one? Will it help us to not fall off the dock every time we try to get on our ship? The mysteries never cease.
Well, seeing as we need to recover from another ignominious dunk in the sea, that’s all we have time for today! There were a lot of moving parts to manage throughout May, largely thanks to The Hoarder’s Hunt – which were your favourite bits? You can let us know and keep up with all Sea of Thieves news via our social channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Twitch, or by joining the official Forums or Discord. In the meantime, we’ll be back next month with another round-up. Of the previous month, obviously. See you then!
Previously in 2023:
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: April 2023
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: March 2023
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: February 2023
Sea of Thieves Round-Up: January 2023