Today was supposed to be the launch date for Sea of Thieves’ third major expansion, Forsaken Shores, but developer Rare has now announced that the expansion’s launch will be delayed by about a week to ensure it’s as stable and polished as possible.
According to this blog post from Rare, the launch of Forsaken Shores has been pushed back to next Thursday, September 27. A specific reason for the delay wasn’t given, but Rare said it felt the extra week was necessary to ensure Forsaken Shores will be up to snuff when it arrives:
“This decision was not taken lightly, and we know this may disappoint fans who were looking to play the update this week. That said, our priority is to deliver a stable, polished and bug-free experience and we feel that the extra week of development will enable us to do this.”
The delay is undoubtedly disappointing for fans who were eagerly awaiting their chance to set sail on new Sea of Thieves’ adventures, but if it also ensures a smoother launch for Forsaken Shores as a whole, it’s certainly worth waiting through. When it does finally arrive, Forsaken Shores will add an entire new region to the Sea of Thieves game world, allowing brave swashbucklers to venture into the fiery Devil’s Roar, a region so massive that Rare actually had to divide it up into three smaller sub-regions.
Along with the Devil’s Roar region, Forsaken Shores will include usable rowboats which players can use to more efficiently transport booty and supplies, as well as new cosmetic items which will likely be tied into the expansion’s accompanying limited-time story event. Even though Forsaken Shores will be the last major expansion for 2018, Rare plans to continue supporting Sea of Thieves with additional expansions and events well into 2019 and potentially even beyond that.