Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Pirate sim promotes teamwork but has unmonitored chat.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Sea of Thieves
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 19 parent reviews
Based on 60 kid reviews
Kids say this game is a fun and immersive pirate experience that promotes teamwork among friends, though players should be cautious of the potentially toxic online interactions. While it's mostly child-friendly with minimal violence and graphics, parental discretion is advised due to the presence of alcohol references, voice chat issues, and some negative behaviors from other players.
- teamwork focus
- minimal violence
- online toxicity
- alcohol references
- child-friendly
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
SEA OF THIEVES aspires to give us the power to live out our greatest pirate fantasies. Players band together in groups of two to four (you can also play alone, but it makes things significantly harder) to form a seagoing crew. The team votes on a voyage, identifies its goal on a map, and then sets about raising and angling sails while navigating a sloop or galleon toward the objective. You may encounter other player-controlled ships along the way, which could lead to seafaring combat likely to involve cannon fire, patching hull holes with planks, and bailing water with a bucket. Once you've arrived at your destination, you'll drop anchor and head ashore, find the location where X marks the spot, pull out a shovel, and begin digging for treasure -- keeping an eye out for angry skeletons, poisonous snakes, and any additional supplies or loot that might be scattered around the island. Treasure in hand, you'll head to the nearest outpost to trade it for gold -- which can be spent on gear and items to make your pirate stand out -- and to increase your pirate reputation so that you can purchase more perilous (and rewarding) treasure hunting voyages.
Is It Any Good?
It's best to go into this entertaining teamwork-building pirate adventure without any expectations. That's because Sea of Thieves doesn't play like your typical online game. It's not about growing your pirate avatar into a powerful character with peerless skills and invincible gear -- veterans and rookies can play and voyage together with virtually no difference in their abilities, save the senior player's experience -- instead, it's about sharing an adventure with friends. The best parts come when players are calling out to each other over their headsets in a joint effort to accomplish an objective, whether it's the crew member in the crow's nest saying she sees a galleon with masts raised on the horizon or someone else excitedly announcing his shovel has hit wood. It's an extremely team-oriented experience, with everyone working toward and sharing in the same goals, rewards, and failures. And once a voyage is finished, players won't necessarily be talking about the loot they acquired or what they spent their gold on, but rather anecdotes about the time they cooperated to perform an anchor-assisted 180-degree turn to come about on another ship, spied a shipwreck and dove into the sea to find a glowing skull, or stood together on the bow to witness a shimmering sunset creating a sea of sparkles (water has never looked prettier in a game).
Still, this might not be to everyone's taste. There's a sense of progress -- mostly to do with reputation -- but it's not what veteran gamers might expect. And while play is wonderfully emergent and filled with unscripted events and surprises, a lack of variety in voyage types and settings carries with it a real risk of repetition. Players in it for the long haul won't be returning day after day and week after week to discover new loot and gear, but rather to enjoy a social experience with friends (or strangers). If that sounds like the sort of game you want to play, then unfurl your sails and get ready for a terrific simulation of life as a pirate.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about maintaining online safety when playing a game like Sea of Thieves. What are some warning signs that you might be playing with strangers who are up to no good?
Talk about the golden age of piracy. Is there anything to be admired about real-world pirates, or did they live only despicable lives of crime, looting, pillaging, and murder?
Game Details
- Platforms : Windows , Xbox One
- Pricing structure : Paid (Note that this game is also included in Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service.)
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Microsoft Studios
- Release date : March 20, 2018
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Adventures , Animals ( Ocean Creatures ) , Pirates
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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