Your seas, your rules
Rare's 'Custom Seas' Update Empowers Players with Advanced Creator Tools June 18
Rare will launch Sea of Thieves Season 20 on June 18, 2026 with the free expansion Custom Seas, shifting the pirate sandbox toward broad player creativity. The update adds built-in creator tools and a level editor that let players build, configure, and host customizable private game modes, with cinematic camera options for filming in-game adventures and machinima-style content. Players can reshape the shared world by adjusting elements like enemy spawns, weather, crew rules, and session parameters, and Rare also plans for rapid community-made content after launch. Custom Seas is expected to roll out across Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 5, potentially widening the player base and boosting engagement. The announcement comes as some players criticize Sea of Thieves’ monetization and as a prominent creator reportedly faces a ban over serious allegations, adding tension around the summer rollout. Overall, Rare is making advanced customization available to everyone rather than limiting it to creator programs or restricted modes.
Key Points
Rare’s Custom Seas trailer previewed not just generic editing, but specific creator-focused options like “custom ship racing lines” and “unique combat rulesets,” alongside “highly advanced cinematic camera tools” designed to make filming pirate adventures easier.
The expansion’s machinima tools are described as going “beyond typical custom lobbies,” with players able to stage and film scenes inside the game engine (in addition to reshaping gameplay systems).
Context on the game’s current reception and scale: the article cited an “88% positive” Steam rating (based on 166,548 reviews), noted the base game price of “$13.99” on Steam, and referenced about “10,648 concurrent players on Steam” around the announcement window.
Rare framed the update around giving players “the ‘keys to the seas’,” and the level editor is illustrated with examples such as designing “sniper duels” or “chaotic naval battles,” including modes that can even use “rowboats,” plus non-combat “calm social spaces.”
On the off-field controversy, the creator ban was reported as occurring in May 2026, and the article added that “Rare hasn’t publicly addressed this situation in relation to the Season 20 launch.”
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