As Sea of Thieves sails towards its March 20 launch date, the team at Rare is gearing up to launch a closed beta test on January 24. In addition to helping Rare get things ready for launch, this test will differ from previous alpha tests in a key way by enabling full Xbox Play Anywhere support for the first time.
Previous alpha tests have included support for crossplay, allowing the whole community of testers to play together on Xbox One and Windows 10. The upcoming closed beta will push that further by allowing players to continue their progress where they left off on each platform via Xbox Play Anywhere, Rare has announced. From Rare:
As we head into Closed Beta, our next step is to fully enable Xbox Play Anywhere. We're delighted to announce that starting in Closed Beta on January 24th, you can jump between any device and continue where you left off, whether that's a Windows 10 PC, Windows 10 laptop, Xbox One, Xbox One S or Xbox One X. And with cross play, you'll always have a friend to sail with, regardless of where they play.
Sea of Thieves lets players take to the high seas with their friends in an open-world pirate adventure. You'll embark on a hunt for treasure across remote islands while tackling the dangers of the seas and enemies that populate the environment. Players can also stumble upon others, engaging in ship battles while exploring the world. And if you're playing on Xbox One X, the game will be enhanced for the console, running in native 4K.
The upcoming January 24 beta test will be open to anyone who signed up to be a Sea of Thieves Insider before December 1. You can also get in by preordering the game now. And since the beta doesn't require adhering to an NDA, players will be able to share gameplay as they see fit.
Sea of Thieves is available for preorder now for $59.99 ahead of its expected March 20 release.
Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
