Sea of Thieves Live-Action Movie in Development, Microsoft Confirms

Microsoft is bringing Rare's enduring pirate adventure Sea of Thieves to the big screen with a live-action movie. Xbox content head Matt Booty confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly, revealing that the project is being produced by Destin Daniel Cretton, known for directing Marvel hits like the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. However, Cretton is not expected to direct the film himself.

'The main character of a Sea of Thieves game is actually the player and the community,' Booty said, discussing the film's potential plot. 'So if you sit down to think about Sea of Thieves, it's not, "Who are the main characters? What's the plot?" It's a super social game, but there's a tone to Sea of Thieves. It's built on a very cooperative community, so you can start to sense what that's going to be like.'

Originally launched for PC and Xbox One in 2018, Sea of Thieves has remained popular, receiving a current-gen console release in 2024 when it also went multi-platform, arriving on PlayStation 5. Over the years, British developer Rare has expanded the sandbox open world with new areas, gameplay types, and story quests, including a crossover with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean and content for fans of the Monkey Island series.

Despite looming layoffs at Xbox, Rare has indicated plans to support Sea of Thieves for years to come. This is the first news of a movie adaptation for the game. Regarding the layoffs, with multiple studios reportedly facing closure or divestment, Entertainment Weekly noted that restructuring plans are still being finalized and that Xbox leadership wants to 'exhaust all other options before making these decisions.' Microsoft has not officially commented on the matter.