Sea of Thieves is Completely Fantastical
I asked if Sea of Thieves drew any inspiration from real life historical pirates and pop culture, and executive producer Joe Neate admitted that the team had looked to a lot of these materials for references. However, Neate also mentions that the team wanted Sea of Thieves to have its own original, fantastical world. Instead of creating a pirate game that was grounded in reality like in the 1600s, Rare’s intention was to create a game that was full of colorful mythical creatures that you could interact with. Sea of Thieves comes with its own lore, and the game wants its players and community to help build this world.
Neate also makes the point that you won’t find any historical pirates like Blackbeard. Rare wants “players [to] become the Blackbeard of their game and become famous in the community.” There will be krakens and mermaids, and it will very much be an experience shaped by players’ personal stories.