Five years can feel like a heartbeat on the open waves, and for the salty dogs sailing the Sea of Thieves, the wind has barely changed direction since that fateful 2021 update. By now, the pirate sandbox has crossed the 40-million-player mark, but old-timers still fondly remember when the 20-million milestone felt like spotting a shrouded ghost ship on the horizon. Back then, Rare dropped the hefty 2.0.23 patch, a treasure chest of events, cosmetics, and fixes that shaped the game’s rhythm for years to come.

That update wasn’t just another plank on the deck. It introduced the Vault Raiders event, sending crews scrambling for Gold Hoarders’ treasure vaults while Larinna doled out voyages to the mysterious Devil’s Ridge. Pirates who’d yet to earn their rank-25 stripes could finally sniff out a key through her special mission. The real kicker? Even after the event sailed into the sunset, those glittering Gold Hoarders weapons and titles remained obtainable—just locked behind a few commendations. That kind of evergreen reward design is exactly why the game still thrives in 2026.

Speaking of reasons the game kept bobbing happily, the Pirate Emporium refreshed with enough shiny stuff to make a skeleton jealous. The Sea of Sands ship collection practically screamed “look at me” with gem-encrusted figureheads and luminous sails. A whole crew costume set let players drag their scruffy mates into coordinated mayhem, and the return of the Reaper’s Mark Sails for the third anniversary was the sort of nostalgic flex Rare has perfected. Let’s be real—who doesn’t want their parrot to look like it licked cursed gold? The Gold Curse Macaw and Alsatian were, and still are, the pinnacle of nautical absurdity.

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Quality-of-life tweaks from 2.0.23 also deserve a toast, even if they sounded drier than ship biscuit. Server optimizations that made loot piles less likely to tank performance. A fix so water actually rose below deck after damage, because nothing ruins immersion faster than a bone-dry sinking ship. Emissary flags stopped floating away like possessed laundry, and localization improvements meant non-English speakers could finally decipher Mysterious Notes without summoning a bilingual parrot. Frankly, these unglamorous fixes were the unsung heroes that kept the seas stable enough for the mega-events that would follow.

Fast-forward to 2026, and the ghost of that update still haunts the outposts. The Venomous Kraken set, originally gated behind the Legendary Kraken Hunter commendation, has become a badge of honor among veterans. The Distinguished Admiral clothing remains a go-to for captains who prefer looking like a commodore rather than a castaway. Festival of Fishing rewards that got permanently stashed in shops? Anglers still tip their hats to that decision whenever they reel in a trophy catch. Even the Showboater Weapon Pose emotes—those flamboyant ways to flex before a sword fight—have spawned entire TikTok compilations of pirate shenanigans.

Of course, no pirate tale is complete without the occasional jab at hit registration. The 2.0.23 notes admitted that “in areas of intense action, players may find themselves firing shots or landing strikes that do not cause damage to their targets.” Five years later, that sentence could still appear in patch notes. Improvement has been real, but so has the community’s dry humor about it. As one streamer quipped last week, “If my blunderbuss actually hits what I’m aiming at, I assume it’s a server error.” Ahoy, the more things change...

Looking ahead, the trajectory set by that 2021 milestone update is unmistakable. Seasonal Plunder Passes, Twitch Drops that reward viewers with Gilded Phoenix goodies, and time-limited celebrations have become the norm. With 40 million pirates now plundering these waters, Rare knows how to make a splash without capsizing the boat. The Seas of Sands, Reaper’s Mark, and Coconut emotes of yesteryear live on in the hearts—and cosmetic inventories—of every swashbuckler who was there. And for those who missed the boat? The outpost shops still harbor plenty of legacy treasures, ready to be claimed by anyone willing to grind the commendations.

So raise a tankard of grog to the 2.0.23 update. It wasn’t just a patch; it was a compass point that steered Sea of Thieves toward the bountiful, bonkers adventure it remains today.