Xbox Game Studios and Rare's multiplayer pirate adventure Sea of Thieves is set to grow even more, with one of the most widely-requested features from the community finally coming next year.
Sea of Thieves will be getting custom server support in early 2026, with Rare outlining the feature alongside other plans during a Direct presentation on Thursday. Custom servers will be added as part of a new subscription model, with exact details on pricing to come.
With custom servers, players will naturally be able to fine-tune and tweak numerous settings for their own personal group, including disabling enemy AI or spawning foes to fight (and treasure to plunder) at whim.
Custom servers will also support Safer Seas Fleets, which will allow groups of friends to play together, with progression adjusted the usual Safer Seas rate. Finally, custom server owners will also have access to a cinematic camera toolset, letting these players craft unique videos that aren't otherwise possible.
Outside of the custom servers, Rare is also lifting the NDA on the Sea of Thieves Insider program. This change is meant to promote more discussion and feedback, with Insiders allowed to stream and openly discuss anything they're testing.
A wider "reboot" of the Insider program is also planned for 2026, with more rewards and systems focused on making the most heavily-engaged members of the community take part.
Finally, Rare is also looking to improve the cadence of three-month seasons, with a more structured approach that still keeps things fresh. The plan is roughly to have the first month introduce new sandbox elements, with the second month building on the lore and bringing in a new event, before the third month closes things out with a "call to action" moment.
A tough time for Rare, but huge potential for Sea of Thieves
All of this also comes at a strange crossroads for Rare, with the developer recently impacted by Microsoft's layoffs across the Xbox division. These layoffs also saw a number of projects canceled, including Rare's long-in-development Everwild.
Personally, I'm quite interested in custom servers, and it could be a lot of fun for holding community game nights with my friend groups. The tools Rare is describing sound comprehensive, far more so than the simple "let me play with a group privately" request I've hard from many players.
A lot of this will depend on the structure of the pricing model, however, as well as what else is included in a subscription. If it pans out, the potential upside for the game is massive, and I'll be keeping a close eye on things here.
Sea of Thieves is currently available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (via Battle.net, Steam, and Xbox PC), and PlayStation 5. As an Xbox first-party game, it's also included in Xbox Game Pass.
