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Sea of Thieves' latest updates adds new accessibility options

Rare's pirate adventure has added more features to make the game more accessible.

Donovan Erskine

July 31, 2020 9:10 AM

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Sea of Thieves has received constant support since its release back in 2018. The latest update for the game added a crop of new content and cosmetics for players to enjoy. However, this update also added some important new accessibility settings. These features will make the game more enjoyable for a wider audience. 

Rare posted to the official Sea of Thieves website to talk about the new accessibility settings in their open world pirate game. These changes come from the developer’s desire to eliminate held inputs from the game. Recently, we saw them change many hold functions to toggle, allowing players to simply tap buttons to achieve a desired input. 

The latest accessibility changes in Sea of Thieves include support for single analogue stick play, auto center camera, and the option to automatically float in water. Allowing players to navigate the game with a single analogue stick will reduce the number of required inputs overall. Players can map their controls to the analogue stick of their choice in the accessibility settings under input. There are a few gameplay restrictions that come with jumping to single analogue stick play, such as the inability to straffe or look up and down.

In Sea of Thieves, players will often find themselves swimming in the ocean, for one reason or another. The new accessibility update makes it so players can automatically float in water. “To support Play with a Single Analogue Stick, this removes the need for players to angle the camera to swim.” It should be known that this will prevent players from diving below the surface.

The content that Rare has pumped into Sea of Thieves over the last year has been great, but it’s moves like this that will really define their work on the game. The new accessibility options will allow Sea of Thieves to reach a larger group of players, while fostering an inclusive gaming environment. For more on the swashbuckling pirate game, visit the Shacknews topic dedicated to Sea of Thieves.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_