Sea of Thieves could have turned out a lot differently

Sea of Thieves is a great-looking open world game with a unique art style that’s still capable of producing gorgeous waves and eye-popping sunset scenes. You might be shocked, then, to see just how much Sea of Thieves has actually changed since it began development. In short, it looks like a totally different game.

Sea of Thieves is a great-looking open world game with a unique art style that’s still capable of producing gorgeous waves and eye-popping sunset scenes. You might be shocked, then, to see just how much Sea of Thieves has actually changed since it began development. In short, it looks like a totally different game.

Early design prototypes from Sea of Thieves have surfaced, which are viewable if you head to the game’s staff credits. You can see a series of images that look more reminiscent of a Lego Island sequel than the ambitious title we have on our hands now. Pirates and other humanoid characters look more like white peg-like blobs, while the rest of the world wouldn’t have looked out of place in a TV series like ReBoot. 

It’s interesting to see how much things have changed since the game was initially conceived, and astounding how much better it is now at conveying a more realistic setting in which players can plunder treasure, seek out enemy crews and ruin their day, and generally go about being virtual pirates.

Sea of Thieves is out now, but has not reached its “final” build since Rare is still working on additional updates for the title, including a series of updates coming later this week. It’s come a very long way, but it still has a ways to go. Have you been enjoying your time sailing the seven seas with friends?

H/T: Eurogamer