Sea of Thieves FAQ

When you purchase an Xbox Play Anywhere title digitally, it’s yours to play on both Xbox and Windows 10. You only need to purchase the game once via the Microsoft Store on your Xbox or Windows 10 device and it will appear in your game library wherever you sign in.

If you've purchased the game or content on Xbox and you want to play on your Windows 10 device, sign in on your device. If the game is already installed on your device, it will appear in your list of apps. You can also install it by opening the Store and selecting My library.

If you purchased the game or content on Windows 10 and you want to play on your Xbox console, sign in on your console and go to My games & apps. If the game is already installed, it will appear in your game list. Otherwise, you can find it in the Ready to install section.

To learn more about Xbox Play Anywhere and to see which games are supported, go to the Xbox Play Anywhere website. You can also go to Troubleshoot problems with Xbox Play Anywhere games if you're having any problems finding Sea of Thieves or content on your Xbox One or Windows 10 device.

To find out what regions you can purchase Sea of Thieves in, and what languages are currently supported follow the links to useful articles on the Sea of Thieves — Support page.

If you have downloadable content for Sea of Thieves, you can access this from within the game itself. Items can be found in any chest within the game, but will always appear on your ship. To locate the items on your ship:

1. Launch the game on either the galleon or the sloop.
2. Once you have located your ship, board and head down to the middle deck on the galleon or the lower deck if playing on a sloop.
3. If you’re on a galleon, head toward the front end of the ship.
4. If you’re on a sloop, the chests are available on both lower levels.
5. At the front of the ship, there are 5 different chests:
   • Armory (Weapons)
   • Clothing (Costumes)
   • Vanity (Character customization)
   • Equipment (All other items)
   • Ammo (Ammunition)

Depending on the downloadable content you have, your items will appear in these chests. For example, if you pre-ordered the game and received the Black Dog Pack, your clothing items will appear in the clothing chest.

Note These customization chests can also be found outside of shops.

If you have a Game Pass subscription (sold separately), Sea of Thieves is one of the many games included.

To install on Xbox One:

1. Press the Xbox button  to open the guide and select My games & apps.
2. Scroll down to Game Pass, then search for the Sea of Thieves tile.
3. Select the tile, then select Install.

To install on Windows 10:

1. Open the Microsoft Store app and search for “Sea of Thieves.”
2. On the product detail page, select Install.

If you decide to cancel your Game Pass subscription, you will no longer be able to launch Sea of Thieves on your Xbox One or Windows 10 devices. You can purchase the game at any time by opening the product detail page, and selecting Buy to own. You won’t need to uninstall or reinstall the game if you purchase it after your subscription has ended.

The download time can vary depending on the speed of your internet connection. On average, it takes about an hour to download 10 GB over a 20-Mbps connection.

Follow the steps in the What are the hardware requirements? section below to find the size of the game on Xbox and Windows 10. These may vary depending on which device you are installing to.

The table below represents estimated download times based on current download speed.

Note This information is intended as a guide only, not an actual representation of download time. Bandwidth will be constrained and download time will increase during activities such as streaming content, playing games, or game streaming from your Xbox One to a Windows 10 PC.

For example:

If you're installing a 20-GB file and it's 25 percent downloaded (15 GB remaining) and your connection speed is 10 Mb/s, it should take about 3.4 hours for the download to complete. (This assumes that the download speed stays the same.)

While you're downloading the game, do not cancel the download or shut down your computer. The Sea of Thieves icon will appear in the listed Installed Apps section of the Start menu on Xbox, and in My Library on your Windows 10 device.

Note You may be subject to additional internet fees while you download the game.

If you believe you’re experiencing a slow download of the game, go to Troubleshoot slow game or app downloads on Xbox One or Fix network connection issues in Windows for troubleshooting steps.

For additional troubleshooting, see the following pages:

• Download 4K game content first
• Where to download games for Windows 10
• How to install games on Xbox One

To download and install Sea of Thieves on Windows 10, you need a device running version 1607, with OS Build 14393.0 or later.

Additionally, your device must be running a 64-bit version of Windows 10. If you have a 32-bit version, you won't be able to play Sea of Thieves.

To see whether you're running an appropriate version of Windows on your device:

1. Go to Start > Settings > System > About.
2. Look at Edition to find out which version and edition of Windows your PC is running. Make sure this is at least 1607.
3. Look at OS Build and make sure this is at least 14393.0.
4. Look at System type to see if you're running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows.

If you don't see a version listed, you need to update before you can download the game. There are a couple of ways you can do this:

• Go to Start > Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. See if any relevant updates are available.

  Note If it's been less than 31 days since you upgraded to Windows 10, you won't get the update right away. This is to allow you to go back to your previous version of Windows if you choose. After the 31 days have passed, your PC will automatically download the latest update.

• See the Windows Update: FAQ page to upgrade your device to Windows 10 with the latest update.

If you have version K or KN of Windows 10, you may need to download additional software. These are available as a free download. To do this, go to Media Feature Pack for Windows 10 N and Windows 10 KN editions (November 2015).

If you have purchased Sea of Thieves or are playing via Game Pass visit Sea of Thieves for more troubleshooting help.

Note The steps below only apply if you are part of the Xbox Insiders or Windows Insiders programs.

If you are part of the Windows Insider Program, or you have a device running a version higher than 1710, you may experience some problems downloading and installing Sea of Thieves on your device. We encourage you to use the Feedback Hub to report any problems you have while running an Insider build of Windows. To do this:

1. Select the Windows icon and enter "Feedback Hub."
2. Once the app opens, select the Feedback icon on the left.
3. Select the Add new feedback button.
4. Select the problem button and enter some details in the text boxes below.
5. In the category selection boxes at the bottom, select Preview Programs for the first box, and Windows Insider Forums and Support for the second box.
6. Select Submit to send your feedback.

If you’re part of the Xbox Insider Program and are having issues playing Sea of Thieves:

1. While you’re experiencing the problem, press and hold the Xbox button  on your controller, then select Report a problem.
2. See if your problem has already been listed. If not, select Add new problem.
3. Under categories select Games, then select Sea of Thieves.
4. Enter a detailed description of the problem you’re experiencing and then select whether to include a screenshot or video if it shows the problem happening.
5. Once completed, select Done to submit your feedback.

Note For both the Feedback Hub and Xbox Insider Hub, you may not receive feedback directly from the team investigating your problem.

If you are not part of either of these programs you can go to the Sea of Thieves – Support page, where you can read helpful articles and report any issues to the Sea of Thieves team.

The support site includes a Game Status page where you can find the latest news on how the game is running, along with more information on known issues that the team is working on and planned maintenance times.

There is also useful information on the Sea of Thieves Forums where you can join discussions, provide feedback and chat with like-minded pirates.

Yes, you need to have DirectX 11 or later installed to play Sea of Thieves.

If you’re not sure if you have DirectX 11 installed, here’s how you can check:

1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type "dxdiag" and then press Enter to launch the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
3. On the System tab in the System Information window, look for the DirectX version listed. The version must be 11 or higher to run Sea of Thieves.

The hardware requirements for Sea of Thieves will vary depending on whether you're playing on Xbox or Windows 10. Visit the product detail page for each platform to determine the size of the game, the system requirements (particularly for Windows 10 devices), as well as any additional info about the game.

Note Since this is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, you can purchase digitally on Xbox or Windows 10 and you'll own both versions of the game. The product detail pages are called out separately for each platform for information only – you don't need to purchase the game twice.

Xbox

To view the installation requirements for Xbox, go to the Sea of Thieves product detail page.

To check if your Xbox has enough available disc space to install Sea of Thieves:

1. Press the Xbox button  to open the guide and then select My games & apps.
2. Check the available drive space displayed at the bottom-left corner of the screen. If you don't have enough space, you’ll either need to remove some of your existing games and apps or add an external drive to your console.

If you’re using an external storage device with your console and you want to change the default installation location:

1. Press the Xbox button  to open the guide.
2. Select Settings > System > Storage.
3. Under Manage storage, your default storage location is indicated by a triangle in the top-right corner.

Windows 10

To view the system requirements for Windows 10, visit the Sea of Thieves product detail page. The “Additional info” section will give you the approximate download size, indicating how large the game is.

If you don’t know your GPU (graphics processor) or VRAM (video memory), here’s how you can check:

1. Go to Start > Settings > System.
2. On the Display tab, scroll to the bottom and select Advanced display settings.
3. Scroll to the bottom and select Display adapter properties. The Adapter Type will display the name of the GPU, and the Dedicated Memory will display the VRAM.

See How to find out if a game will work on your Windows 10 device for more information about how to check your device.

To find out how much available disk space your Windows 10 device has and to change the location that your game will save to:

1. Go to Settings > System > Storage.
2. The used disk space for each drive on your device will be displayed. Make sure you have enough available space on your hard drive.

See Find out how much storage your PC has for more info about how to check your Windows 10 device.

Full details on PC system requirements can be found on the Sea of Thieves support page.

We recommend that you check the device specifications before purchasing the game to make sure your device meets the minimum requirements.

If you've already downloaded the game, you can try adjusting the in-game graphics options in the game settings. To do this, press the View button on your Xbox controller, or the Esc key on Windows 10, and access Video Settings.

If you’re playing on Windows 10, make sure that your device meets the highest system requirements by checking System Information. See the What are the hardware requirements? section above for details on how to do this.

You can also enable Game Mode to prioritize your device’s resources for game-play. Visit Use Game Mode while gaming on your PC for more info.

You can use a mouse and keyboard or a game controller (Xbox One or Xbox 360 controller is recommended). If you use an Xbox One controller, you'll need either a USB cable to connect it to your device or an Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows.

You can also connect an Xbox One or Xbox Design Lab controller to your device using Bluetooth. For more details, visit Using Xbox One Wireless Controllers on a PC.

Other USB game controllers supported by Windows may also work.

If you’re stuck on a part of the game, you need some advice from other players on what to do next, or you want to give others hints and tips from your own experience, there are a couple of places you can go.

• For technical issues with your platform, or to speak with other Xbox players, visit Xbox Forums.
• For in-game issues or to speak with fans and experts on the game, visit the Sea of Thieves website.

Yes, you'll need a Microsoft account to play Sea of Thieves. If you already play games on Xbox 360 or Xbox One, you can use the same account you use for those games to also play on Windows 10. For more info, see the Microsoft account on the Xbox console FAQ page.

Sea of Thieves can only be played while online. If you're playing on Xbox One, you'll need an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to play all modes of the game. You will not be able to play the game while offline.

If you're playing on Windows 10, you do not need an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to play online.

On Xbox, you can install Sea of Thieves on your home console, as well as install and play on your friends’ consoles if you sign in to Xbox Live before playing.

On Windows 10, you can install Sea of Thieves on your main device (usually the first device you install the game on), and install on multiple devices if you sign in to Xbox Live before playing.

You can only be signed in at one place at a time while playing Sea of Thieves, or any other title that supports Xbox Play Anywhere.

When you connect Sea of Thieves to the Xbox Live service, you get the following benefits while you play on your Windows 10 device.

Note You must connect to Xbox Live through the Xbox app to launch Sea of Thieves. See Do I need to be online or connected to the internet to play? above.

• Stay connected to the Xbox Live community, view achievements, watch game clips, and more.
• Store your saved games in the cloud and continue playing on a different PC right from where you left off.
• Play with your Xbox Wireless Controller on Windows 10 using the Xbox Wireless Adapter.
• Easily record, narrate, and share your most epic gaming moments
• Any game clips that you capture while playing Sea of Thieves can be accessed via the Xbox app. See Benefits of running the Xbox app while playing a game on Windows 10 for more information.