Books

Published on May 19th, 2025 | by Nay Clark

Sea of Thieves: The Art of Piracy Review @TitanBooks

Sea of Thieves is an open-world multiplayer pirate adventure game developed by Rare and published by Xbox Game Studios. First released on March 20, 2018, for Xbox One and Windows PCs, the game offers players the chance to live the life of a pirate in a vast, shared online world. Whether playing solo or in a crew of up to four, players take command of customizable ships and sail across a vibrant ocean, exploring islands, battling legendary sea creatures, and hunting for treasure. The game is built around emergent gameplay, meaning that interactions with other players, whether cooperative or competitive, can lead to unexpected and dynamic scenarios. Sea of Thieves was later released on PlayStation 5 on April 30, 2024.

Players take on quests from various trading companies, such as the Gold Hoarders or Order of Souls, and can engage in everything from treasure hunts to combat against undead skeletons and ghost fleets. Naval combat plays a central role, requiring teamwork to steer ships, fire cannons, repair damage, and fend off boarding enemies. The game features no rigid classes, allowing players to fluidly switch roles within their crew as needed. With a distinct art style that favors stylized, colorful visuals over realism, Sea of Thieves emphasizes atmosphere and whimsy.

Regular content updates, seasonal events, and narrative-driven storylines (known as Tall Tales) keep the world evolving. Since launch, Sea of Thieves has grown significantly, adding new mechanics, factions, locations, and customization options that continually expand its living world.

Ever since 2018, the game has steadily been growing larger and larger, and that growth is beautifully captured in its artbooks. Video game artbooks are a great representation of the crazy level of detail and the sheer amount of work that has gone into crafting the game. It offers a deeper look into the worlds, item designs, characters, and enemies, highlighting visual elements that players may not fully notice while in the middle of adventure. While The Art of Sea of Thieves showcases the immense amount of work and impeccable art design from the game’s early development, Sea of Thieves has since expanded in both content and depth, becoming a truly high-sailing and ever-evolving experience.

The new artbook, Sea of Thieves: The Art of Piracy, provides another look into the incredibly successful game, highlighting Rare’s journey from 2018 to now. Sea of Thieves: The Art of Piracy, is published by Titan Books and is set to release on May 20th, 2025. This hardcover volume spans 240 pages and is written by Chris Allcock, with a striking cover image created by Thomas Mahon. The book offers a deep and comprehensive look at the evolution of the game’s world and its design over the years, providing fans and newcomers alike with a curated collection of concept art, behind-the-scenes insights, and commentary from the development team. It serves not just as a visual journey, but also as a historical record of the many updates, characters, and stories that have shaped the game since its debut.

The book walks readers through the various updates the game has undergone over the years, summarizing the stories of added characters and offering glimpses of unused clothing designs and artwork of popular cosmetic sets like the Ocean Crawler Set and the Legendary Fortune Set. As the book moves chronologically through the updates, it dives deeper into changes and additions made to the gameplay and world design.

There are standout pages featuring detailed artwork of skeletons and shark enemies, capturing the creativity and menace of these iconic foes. The Tall Tales Anniversary update is given particular attention, with dedicated pages that explore each tale individually through concept art, character breakdowns, and narrative summaries. The book also touches on the expanded Sea of Thieves universe, presenting artwork that extends beyond the game itself. From adorable pets and elegant cosmetic designs to concept sketches and promotional imagery, the artbook serves as both a creative archive and a celebration of the game’s legacy.

Some pages are laid out as full-spread environment shots, immersing the reader in the grandeur of the Sea of Thieves world, while others focus in on a central character or concept alongside informative text. The layout is clean and engaging, clearly crafted with care. You can tell the creators are proud of their work, and it’s genuinely exciting to see such dedication visualized so beautifully. This artbook is a perfect way to celebrate the achievements of Sea of Thieves, and it perfectly showcases the amount of heart that’s gone into its development and ongoing evolution.

Final Thoughts?

This artbook is perfect for long-time fans and for anyone curious about Sea of Thieves as a whole. It gives a strong sense of what the game is all about, both in tone and in scope, and helps newcomers understand what they’d be getting into. It’s also just a great celebratory token for those who’ve been on the voyage since the beginning. The book is very informational and does an excellent job showcasing the immense number of updates the game has gone through since its launch. It walks through the changes and additions while taking readers on the same journey players have experienced over the years. I’ve always loved unused concepts and little informational snippets in artbooks that expand your understanding of the creative process; this book delivers that in an extraordinary way.

About the Author

Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.

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