Sea of Thieves is calling all clue hunters as its first narrative Mystery goes live

Sea of Thieves’ sixth season of content might be well into its final stretch, but Rare still has a little something up is sleeve before Season 7 arrives, and a new “multi-channel narrative experience” it’s calling Mysteries is now live in the multiplayer pirate adventure.

Mysteries were originally discussed back in January, when Rare laid out its plans for Sea of Thieves in 2022. The big gambit this year, if you’re unaware, is an ongoing, season-spanning narrative that will progress across monthly in-game story episodes known as Adventures.

It’s a promising idea that so far doesn’t really seem to have found its footing, with Seas of Thieves’ initial set of Adventures having felt decidedly undercooked, both in terms of their challenges and narrative presentation. But with three Adventures now under its belt, Rare is ready to launch the other major component of 2022’s ambitious narrative plans: Mysteries.

Mysteries are something like side stories that play out in parallel with Sea of Thieves’ main overarching plot. Unlike Adventures, though, which are tied to major game updates, Mysteries will progress dynamically over time.

Exactly how Mysteries will manifest in the world, how players will be able to interact with them, and how progress will be triggered is still a little unclear, with Rare remaining rather coy in terms of specifics. It does say, however, that Mysteries have been designed to engage the efforts of the whole Sea of Thieves community, and will play out through a combination of in-game puzzle-solving and sleuthing around other Sea of Thieves channels.

Things kick off with a traditional murder mystery on the waves, and pirates might be able to uncover a few clues to get things started in Rare’s introductory video above.

Sea of Thieves hasn’t seen much in the way of truly substantial additions since last September’s Sunken Kingdom update, and Adventures so far haven’t done much to fill the content void. Hopefully, then, with the third piece of its narrative puzzle now in place, Rare will finally find its rhythm and start to deliver a 2022 worth raising anchor for.