Sea of Thieves beta COUNTDOWN: Xbox and PC release date, time plus controller news

SEA OF THIEVES BETA UPDATE 1

The closed beta for Microsoft's upcoming pirate game, Sea of Thieves, is set to begin later today, January 24.

Players can now start pre-loading the beta on both Xbox One and PC ahead of time.

The actual closed beta is due to commence at 12pm GMT in two hours time and will run until 8am GMT on Monday 29th January.

Stay tuned for more info.

ORIGINAL STORY - The Sea of Thieves closed beta is set to go live this week, giving players the opportunity to experience the various activities you can get up to in Rare's open world pirate sim.

The Sea of Thieves closed beta will start at 4am PST (that's 12pm GMT) on January 24th.

The beta is set to run for five days - finishing at 12am PST (or 8pm GMT) on January 28th.

The beta will be part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program, which means you can choose to play the game on either your Xbox One console or your Windows PC.

Here's when the beta will go live, and end, according to Rare:

• Eastern Standard Time (EST)

7am on Wednesday 24th January to 3am on Monday 29th January

• Central Standard Time (CST)
6am on Wednesday 24th January to 2am on Monday 29th January

• Pacific Standard Time (PST)
4am on Wednesday 24th January to 12am on Monday 29th January

• Central European Time (CET)
1pm on Wednesday 24th January to 9am on Monday 29th January

Sea of Thieves closed beta - How to Access

You'll have access to the closed beta for Sea of Thieves if you joined the game's Insider Programme before December 1st 2017.

You'll also have access to the game if you've preordered the title via retailer - you should have been given a code when you pre-ordered for the Black Dog Cosmetic Pack. Redeeming that code will grant you access to the beta.

If you'd like to access the beta, but still haven't pre-ordered, you can ensure entry to the test by picking the game up via the Microsoft Store here.

Sea of Thieves closed beta - What to Expect

Rare states that the tile for the beta will appear in your library roughly 24 hours before the test is due to start - so you should be able to download the beta client now.

Rare has released a statement on what you can expect to find in the beta:

"We’ve crafted a bespoke experience for Closed Beta players that has been designed to give everyone a taste of the pirate life that they can expect in the full version of the game at release. We won’t be testing the full game during the Closed Beta phase: we want to keep a good selection of things up our sleeves for players to discover at launch."

SEA OF THIEVES - What We a Know So Far

Since the game debuted at E3 2016 with a sensationally fun looking gameplay video, fans have been given regular updates on YouTube from the team as the game was being made.

The new title from UK developers RARE promises some of the more interesting co-operative gameplay elements we've seen in some time.

But what we really need to see now, is that there is a fully fledged game here and not a collection of rather cool small experiences.

Earlier in the year, Rare shared a new video with Live Campaign Producer Christina Parker, who explained what live campaigns will bring to the game and how they'll work within the game.

According to Parker, Live Campaigns will involve things like seasonal events, community events and social events.

So in the same way that games like Pokemon GO, Destiny and Overwatch create special content around moments throughout the year.

Sea of Thieves still doesn’t have a release date, but it's expected that the game is set to arrive in 2018 for Xbox One, Xbox One X and Windows 10.

Sea of Thieves - Wireless Controller

The beta is going live after Microsoft announced a wireless controller that directly ties into the Sea of Thieves game.

The Limited Edition controller will set you back £64.99 comes with exclusive in-game Ferryman Clothing Set DLC, 14-day Xbox Live Gold trial and 14-day Xbox Game Pass trial with access to 100+ games (although that's for new subscribers only).

Here's how Microsoft describes it:

Weigh anchor and fight, sail and loot in style with the limited edition Sea of Thieves controller. Gaze into the murky depths of its deep purple translucent design, adorned with laser-etched barnacles, one treasured golden trigger and a mysterious skull that glows at sundown. Includes Bluetooth for gaming on Windows 10 PCs and tablets2 and is compatible with Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles.

You can buy the controller here.