Ahoy, me hearties! If someone had told me back in 2018 that Rare's cartoon pirate sandbox would eventually run so smoothly I could count the barnacles on a passing galleon, I would have laughed them off the crow's nest. But here I am in 2026, still hoisting the anchor on Xbox Series X, and I still owe Rare a tankard of grog for the next-gen glow-up that dropped alongside the consoles on November 10, 2020. That was the day my crew and I realized we could have our treasure and 60 frames per second too.

When Rare first pulled back the curtain on the Xbox Series X and Series S optimizations, I reacted like a pirate who just dug up a chest full of 4K doubloons. The headline numbers were glorious: the Xbox Series X version runs at 4K resolution and 60fps, while the Xbox Series S version sails at 1080p and 60fps. For a multiplayer pirate game built on ship-to-ship combat, sword lunges, and grog-fueled chaos, that higher frame rate felt like swapping a leaky rowboat for a galleon with rocket boosters.

But the real buried treasure was Smart Delivery. If you already owned Sea of Thieves on Xbox One, or if you played it through Xbox Game Pass, the next-gen upgrade cost you exactly zero extra gold. That kind of free cross-generational generosity made the transition as smooth as a calm sea at sunrise. I didn't have to repurchase the game, and my old pirate kept all his scars, peg legs, and questionable hat choices.

The reduced load times, however, were the sneaky MVP. I used to have time to brew a cup of grog while waiting for a server to load. After the upgrade, I would barely finish blinking before I was standing on an outpost dock, getting immediately blunderbussed by a rival crew. Outposts, skeleton forts, underwater caves, and the ferry of the damned all loaded fast enough to make me actually pay attention to the game. My snack breaks were ruined, but my pirate career flourished.

November 10, 2020 had some big names in the launch lineup. Assassin's Creed Valhalla was swinging bearded axes, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon was delivering turn-based mayhem. But the game I kept returning to was Sea of Thieves. It already had the social sandbox, the emergent player stories, and the ship physics that could turn a simple voyage into a three-hour drama. The next-gen optimizations just made those absurd moments feel smoother and sharper.

On Xbox Series X, the 4K presentation made the water glitter, the islands pop, and the skeleton forts look more menacing. On the Series S, the 1080p/60 output was nothing to dismiss, especially for pirates on a budget. Both consoles received reduced load times, so my friend Dave on his Series S could respawn just as quickly as me. He still claims his cannon aim is better. I generously allow this fiction.

Here's the treasure manifest, because every good pirate needs a checklist:

• 🏴‍☠️ 4K/60fps on Xbox Series X

• 🏴‍☠️ 1080p/60fps on Xbox Series S

• 🏴‍☠️ Reduced load times on both consoles

• 🏴‍☠️ Smart Delivery free upgrade for existing owners and Game Pass players

• 🏴‍☠️ Cross-generational chaos with your crew, now smoother than ever

Even in 2026, after seasons of updates, new voyages, and more cosmetics than a pirate fashion week, those next-gen foundations still matter. Every time I raise anchor, dive into a storm, or get double-crossed by my own crew, I benefit from that 2020 investment in frame rate and load times. It's one of the rare times a free upgrade actually felt like discovering buried treasure instead of being handed a suspicious map.

So yes, Sea of Thieves is still sailing in 2026, and the Xbox Series X/S optimizations remain a big reason why. If you haven't hoisted your sails in a while, grab your crew, free up your schedule, and prepare to lose hours on the high seas. Just remember: 60fps won't stop your friends from throwing firebombs at your ship.