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Rare's Sea of Thieves Breaking a 39-Year Tradition with PS5 Release

Rare's popular multiplayer pirate game will soon make history by debuting on PlayStation after nearly four decades.
Rare's Sea of Thieves Breaking a 39-Year Tradition with PS5 Release

Highlights

  • Rare's Sea of Thieves breaks tradition with its first PlayStation release on April 30.
  • The move signifies a major shift for Rare, known for its exclusive ties to Nintendo and Microsoft.
  • Microsoft's choice to expand Sea of Thieves to PS5 shows the game's potential for growth and appeal to a broader audience.

Rare's Sea of Thieves is about to shatter a long-standing company record by launching on a PlayStation console for the first time. In the past, Rare, the developer behind Sea of Thieves, was closely affiliated with Nintendo, creating games mainly for Nintendo's handheld and home consoles such as the NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64.

During its collaboration with Nintendo, Rare crafted some of the most cherished games of its era, including the Donkey Kong Country series on the Super Nintendo and Banjo-Kazooie on the Nintendo 64. After being purchased by Microsoft, Rare produced just one title for the Nintendo GameCube, Star Fox Adventures, before transitioning to developing exclusively for the Xbox console family.

Despite commitments to Nintendo and Microsoft, Rare has never launched a game for a PlayStation console in its 39-year history, a fact highlighted by Push Square. However, this will change when Sea of Thieves arrives on the PS5 on April 30. This move is part of Microsoft's initiative to bring some of its Xbox games to other platforms, with titles like Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, and Grounded also making the leap to PlayStation in 2024.

Sea of Thieves PS5 Release Date

  • The highly anticipated Sea of Thieves PS5 release date is set for April 30, 2024.

Sea of Thieves faced challenges initially, but Rare successfully revamped the game into a popular live-service pirate adventure over time. Microsoft now believes that Sea of Thieves has maximized its potential on PC and Xbox platforms and sees an opportunity for significant growth by expanding to the PS5. Given the game's live service nature, it makes sense to reach a broader player base, even if it means releasing on a competitor's platform.

Currently, Sea of Thieves is the sole Rare-developed game confirmed for the PS5. However, there is a possibility that some of the studio's other titles might follow suit. While fans might not see Rare's Xbox-exclusive Everwild on the PS5 anytime soon, it wouldn't be surprising if older Rare games are being considered for the PlayStation platform.

Whether more Rare games will find their way to the PS5 remains to be seen, but the company is poised to have a significant presence on multiple platforms. Notably, five Rare games have recently been added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, ensuring that Rare's legacy continues on the Nintendo Switch.

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