Sea of Thieves closed beta extended by two days

Update 2: Due to issues that some players have encountered, Rare has announced that the Sea of Thieves closed beta will be extended by two days. It will now end on January 31.

Update: Sea of Thieve’s closed beta has begun on Xbox One and Windows 10. For instructions on how to install it, click here.

Original: Just before December, Rare announced that anyone who joined Sea of Thieve’s Insider Program would be able to participate in the game’s next Alpha session. While the big Technical Test came and went last month, an exact date wasn’t revealed at the time for a Closed Beta, but now we know just when we’ll be able to sale the high seas in Beta form. Over on Xbox Wire, Rare Executive Producer Joe Neate has stated that the Closed Beta will take place at the end of this month.

Starting on January 24 at 4AM PST and lasting through January 29 at 12AM PST, Sea of Thieves Insiders who signed up before December 1 will get 5 days of Closed Beta access. Though the Closed Beta was crafted to give you a “true taste of the pirate life,” they won’t be testing the full game. Rare still wants to keep some secrets up their sleeve for players to discover when the game launches on March 20.

Those who pre-order Sea of Thieves also get access to the Closed Beta. The best part is that it won’t be covered by an NDA like the Alpha Technical Tests were. Players are free to  stream, create videos, share clips, take screenshots or do anything else their minds come up with.

Sea of Thieves launches on Xbox One and Windows 10 on March 20, 2018 and is an Xbox Pay Anywhere title. You can pre-order it from the Microsoft Store for $59.99. If you happen to be a controller enthusiast or just appreciate some good design, you can also pick up the limited edition Sea of Thieves controller from the Microsoft Store for $74.99, which is set to release next month on February 6.