Sea of Thieves will shut down The Arena mode in March

Rare announced on Thursday that it will shut down Sea of Thieves’ competitive Arena mode on March 10. The company cited the mode’s low population as a key factor in deciding to shutter it. “As we’ve shared before, only 2% of our players’ time is spent in The Arena on a consistent basis,” said the company in a blog post elaborating on the decision.

Rare also stated that despite ending active development on the mode in December 2020, updates to the rest of the game had adversely affected The Arena. The developer claimed this resulted in the mode requiring a hefty amount of ongoing development just to keep it running, which ultimately proved to be another factor in the decision to shut it down.

The company said that fans of The Arena who have at least reached Sea Dogs rank 5 in the competitive mode would receive exclusive, unreleased Arena ship cosmetics to use in Sea of Thieves’ Adventure mode following The Arena’s closure. Those who have reached Sea Dogs rank 50 will also receive The Good Boy ship cosmetics.

However, if you have yet to reach these ranks, you’re out of luck, as Rare stated that the cutoff point to be eligible to earn these cosmetics was Thursday, January 27 — the same day the blog was published. “[These rewards] are to show our gratitude to everyone who has supported and enjoyed The Arena up to this point,” the company said.

The closure of The Arena was announced as part of the Sea of Thieves 2022 preview event, which also offered a first look at the game’s Shrouded Islands event. The company also released a content roadmap for the year, which revealed that four seasons’ worth of content would hit the game throughout 2022.