With Sea of Thieves set to launch on PlayStation 5 on April 30, developer Rare has answered a number of questions about how the soon-to-be former Xbox exclusive works on PlayStation.
The highlights here are that progress and items transfer from the Xbox version to the PS5 version, there are PlayStation-only servers with the ability to disable crossplay, and performance options match the Xbox Series X version. Elsewhere, the PS5 version has 60 base Trophies and a Platinum Trophy called Pirate Perfectionist.
In a blog post, Rare said there are some PlayStation-exclusive cosmetics, including the Ruby Viper cosmetics or Dauntless Adventurer Closed Beta rewards, which are exclusive to the PlayStation pre-order campaign. These won’t be equippable on Xbox or Steam. Rare said it’s making plans for a unique sail that will be available to all players during the PS5 launch period. This sail will “commemorate the coming together of pirates across all platforms”.
It’s worth noting that PS5 players need to use a Microsoft account to play Sea of Thieves. “Newcomers will find that their Microsoft account keeps track of their pirate’s journey, antics and adventures, making sure everything stays in place between gaming sessions,” Rare said. This also enables progress tracking on the Sea of Thieves website, and lets players buy cosmetics from the Pirate Emporium.
As expected, PlayStation players need a PS Plus subscription to play Sea of Thieves multiplayer. Solo play in Safer Seas mode does not require a sub, however.
The aforementioned PlayStation-only servers let players deactivate cross-play functionality, thereby restricting their gaming sessions to exclusively include other PlayStation users. Players will also have the option to confine gameplay to fellow controller users, enabling play between both PlayStation and Xbox players who favor controller-based gameplay.
Sea of Thieves makes use of the PS5’s DualSense controller in a number of ways. Here’s the breakdown, from Rare:
- Haptics – Sea of Thieves uses the haptic feedback technology within the DualSense controller to enhance the experience of movement and interacting with the world.
- Adaptive Triggers – Sea of Thieves uses the adaptive triggers within the DualSense controller to heighten gunplay, allowing players to feel each pull of the trigger.
- Built-In Microphone and Speaker – Sea of Thieves uses the built-in microphone so players can chat to their friends without the need for a connected headset.
Meanwhile, Rare confirmed Sea of Thieves is playable via the PlayStation Portal. Sea of Thieves on PS5 is “optimized” to run at 60fps in 4K resolution, with an additional performance mode available for supported TVs allowing for 120Hz refresh rates at 1080p resolution. This has parity with the Xbox Series X experience, Rare clarified.
All active Sea of Thieves achievements on Xbox and Steam will convert into Trophies on PS5, Rare continued. “While existing achievement progress may result in some Trophies unlocking immediately upon login, players will need to replay to fully unlock Trophies on PS5.”
And finally, detail on the upcoming closed beta, which lets players earn Renown, currency and cosmetic rewards as part of the Season 11 Seasonal progression track. Their pirate will keep these rewards, and these items will be accessible when the game launches globally at the end of April, Rare clarified. “They will also be awarded 10 levels of Renown towards their Season 12 Seasonal progression track, as a thank you for participating,” Rare said.
“Closed beta participants will not be able to engage with the Pirate Emporium, and will only be playing with other PlayStation players during this period. While Trophies will be disabled during the Closed Beta, progress towards them will be tracked, carried over and unlocked appropriately upon launch of the retail version.”
The closed beta is planned for April 12-15 (you need a pre-order to play), with the premium edition offering five days of early access from April 25.
Sea of Thieves is the latest Xbox game to make the jump to rival platforms, joining Grounded, Pentiment, and Hi-Fi Rush. Microsoft is testing the multiplatform waters with this quartet, and may release more of its first-party games on non-Xbox consoles in the future. In an interview with IGN, former Xbox chief Peter Moore offered his thoughts on why Microsoft was making this move now.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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