We’re looking forward to this month’s content update, Smuggler’s Fortune, which will go live on Wednesday. It’s a big release and contains a lot of content including new Voyages, Duke’s Black Market cosmetic shop where players can spend Doubloons and gold, more aggressive Skeleton Ships and even roaming Skeleton Sloops!

We’re also very pleased to finally launch the Pirate Emporium, our new premium store selling a range of items such as pets, emotes and ship liveries including some that celebrate Rare’s rich heritage.

Following our preview stream where we went into detail about the Pirate Emporium, I also wanted to write a post here to make sure everyone knows what’s coming and what to expect. While we’ve always been 100% open about our plans to introduce premium Sea of Thieves items purchasable with real money, we realise that it’s an emotive subject and we want to make sure everyone is kept in the loop.

Firstly, I’d like to share a bit more information about how this store will work. The Pirate Emporium can be accessed in two ways: from the main menu screen when you first access the game, or in-game above the Order of Souls at any Outpost (or in The Arena tavern). Once there, you’ll find a range of initial items including monkeys and parrots to purchase as pets, a set of new emotes that can be added to your emote radial and a full ship livery set inspired by Rare’s beloved Banjo-Kazooie games.

To buy items from the Pirate Emporium, you’ll need a new currency called Ancient Coins. These can be purchased directly from the Xbox Store or from the Emporium in-game, and they are available in five bundles ranging from 150 coins costing $1.99 to a bundle of 4,250 coins at $34.99. Ancient Coins can also be found emergently in-game by finding and killing Ancient Skeletons, but these encounters will be a rare surprise so make sure you keep your wits about you and take them down when they do appear!