see deal Sea of Thieves - Xbox One $59.99 on Gamestop

Ahead of Sea of Thieves

Loading

Loading

Speaking on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, the Xbox Games Marketing head shared his experience with an early prototype version of the game, noting that while the scale and visuals still need work, the core mechanic of "meet a bunch of people on a ship and we're going to an island" is there.Greenberg described one particular experience he had when playing with Head of Xbox Phil Spencer and Microsoft CVP Kudo Tsunoda, highlighting the freedom and collaborative fun Sea of Thieves provides the player. "So we were playing with Kudo and Phil, and Kudo just jumps in the water and jumps onto another ship," he said. "He goes AWOL and then you don't see him for a while and then he comes back around and starts blasting cannons at their ship."Meanwhile, his experience playing with Microsoft Studios Europe manager Hanno Lemke—who Greenberg described as being a "super high integrity guy"—was a bit different. While Greenberg wanted to goof around, Lemke was focused on tending to the needs of the ship."So I get on the ship and I run around and start hitting him with a fish and he's like 'What are you doing? There's water down below. We've got to raise the anchor...' So he starts putting me to work," he said of his experience with Lemke, adding: "It's just fun. So much fun."Sea of Thieves releases later this year for Xbox One and PC, and is one of IGN's most anticipated games of 2016 . For more on what's in store for Xbox fans in the months ahead, be sure to check out our full interview with Aaron Greenberg when the next episode of IGN Unfiltered goes live tomorrow.

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and subscribe to him on YouTube