One sec Sea of Thieves is a seemingly silly, carefree game, players have recently reported a rise in disturbing incidents from the pirated sandbox. Some have been subjected to insults, threats, and harassment, while others have been kicked out of the game via deceitful transient bans. On Wednesday, developer Rare acknowledged the issue in a statement, saying it had identified and fixed the exploit, and pledging to address the issues with upcoming actions and moderation tools.
Sea of Thieves is an online game that relies heavily on interaction with other players. There is a Safer Seas game mode that allows pirates to sail alone without disturbing other players, but this also comes with a huge reduction in the game’s rewards. Sea of Thieves is also a fairly family-friendly game; the plain controls and colorful graphics make it simple for parents to let their children or younger players try out the pirate life. Fans of the game have taken to social media to share their negative experiences in an attempt to reverse the trend and create a safer environment.
The videos below contain numerous racist slurs and mentions of sexual violence.
Our Live team quickly discovered a vulnerability in our support toolkit that allowed this to happen. Player Support restored access to all players within 10 minutes, and the vulnerability was then patched within an hour. This was an isolated issue in the support toolkit and did not impact the wider game or any player information.
While only exposed for a low period of time, some players experienced unacceptable behavior that violates our rules. Code of Conduct. This vulnerability has already been resolved.
In addition to explaining the vulnerability, Stevens writes that Rare is committed to “continually working to ensure the security of our game and defend against the pervasive threat of cheat creators,” citing the addition of Easy Anti-Cheat in March. “While this initial integration stopped many active cheat engines, we are now starting to see some of them return. We are committed to continuing to work to strengthen our security, and in addition to that commitment, we are conducting a full internal review of our entire game and our processes,” Stevens writes. Stevens also states that Rare is aware of the ban avoidance and is “exploring ways to mitigate this issue at both the game and platform level.”
Rare will be limiting some features in upcoming updates Sea of Thievessuch as the PvP-focused Hourglass, behind time or reputation locks to make it harder for cheaters to exploit these features. Additionally, Rare plans to improve the game’s profanity filter and chat moderation tools. The question remains whether the developer will outdo the cheaters or Sea of Thieves“The good atmosphere and open ocean will continue to be spoiled by malicious players and bad faith pirates.
