Rare’s multiplayer pirate adventure is back with more gameplay, but still lacks a proper release date.

Sea of Thieves was first announced during E3 2015 as Rare’s first new title for the Xbox One. What appears to be the most ambitious title yet from the developers of several instant-classics of the 90’s, Sea of Thieves allows players to form and micromanage their own band of pirates, and sail the world in search of treasure and the occasional naval battle.

The swashbuckling simulator returned to the stage during Microsoft’s E3 2017 presentation with one of the event’s most self-aware gameplay demos yet. The narrated gameplay demo highlights a group of four pirate-players aboard their ship as they set out in search of buried treasure:

The demo marks the first instance of underwater exploration, complete with a sunken ship and sharks ready to launch an attack; as the group reaches their destination, the demo unveils a comical-yet-direct way of travel- firing a player out of a cannon; cave exploration has already been touched upon in both the debut trailer and E3 2016 demo, however this iteration features a brief lantern-based puzzle and an escape sequence upon finding the buried treasure chest; players can also get a feeling for the naval battles that may occur during the tense closing moments of the demo.

Sea of Thieves will release exclusively for the Xbox One in early 2018, with Xbox Play Anywhere support and additional Xbox One X enhancements.

Source: Rare
Image courtesy of Rare