Sea of Thieves Reveals Huge Update Coming in 2026

The latest updates for Sea of Thieves have focused on enriching the sandbox aspects of the game, and players can expect a huge update to further this goal in 2026. With this upcoming update, developer Rare is putting more control of the game in the community’s hands. Not only this, but Rare has promised to further tackle cheating, especially on PC, to make Sea of Thieves a more enjoyable experience for all.

The first-ever Sea of Thieves Developer Direct revealed the biggest part of this update is the addition of Custom Servers. This feature will come to Sea of Thieves in early 2026 as a part of a new subscription model and includes other benefits. Players will gain access to a private customizable sandbox full of toggles, commands, and a cinematic camera. This allows players to fill Safer Seas servers with their friends and do whatever they want, all while still earning rewards.

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Rare has teased what players can expect in Season 16, 17, and 18. A part of this is changing the seasonal content and how it is released over the three-month period. Rather than releasing all the content at the beginning of the season, it will be spread out. Players can expect more sandbox features, live events, and a “call to action” moment delivered throughout seasons going forward.

Season 17 will focus on The Smugglers League, a new band of pirates in Sea of Thieves. Players can expect this season to start by introducing this group then lead to a heist live event in month two. After this, month 3 will refresh the Skeleton Fort experience. Rare has promised more details regarding Season 17 will be revealed/

While not many details have been revealed, Rare did tease that Season 18 will focus on The Devil’s Roar and boost Emissary play. This region will see more activity, including new Ancient Shrines and expanding on the Smuggler’s League. Again, Rare will reveal more information about this in the future.

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2026 promises to be a good year for Sea of Thieves, and this is just the beginning. The upcoming seasons will provide loads of new content for players ahead of the custom servers release. Rare has also lifted the NDA for the Insider Program, allowing for more communication between the developer and fan base, so expect to se more of those discussions in the future.