Feedback Regarding Xbox Rewards System Disadvantage for Steam Users

  • leafar77
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    Dear Support Team,

    I would like to express my frustration regarding the current Microsoft Rewards integration with Sea of Thieves for users who purchased the game via Steam.

    As a Steam user, I feel heavily disadvantaged by the fact that I can earn Microsoft Rewards points but not participate in game-related Rewards campaigns – even though I log in using the same Xbox account. This limitation was not made clear at the time of purchase on Steam. Had I known, I would have chosen to buy the game through the Microsoft Store instead.

    At the very least, there should be an option to install the game through the Microsoft Store if it is already owned on Steam – similar to how it was handled with Minecraft. However, the most reasonable and fair solution would be to simply allow Rewards to count when playing Sea of Thieves through any platform, as long as the user is signed in with their Xbox account – which is already required on Steam.

    This issue becomes even more frustrating in the context of exclusive and time-limited content, such as the current Rewards Punch Card event :
    👉 https://rewards.bing.com/dashboard/WW_pcparent_SeaofThieves_Ruby_punchcard
    as well as the direct redemption option using Microsoft Rewards points:
    👉 https://rewards.bing.com/redeem/000404000125?form=dash_2

    In fact, I have already spent my hard-earned Microsoft Rewards points to redeem this cosmetic – only to realize I won't be able to receive it in-game because I play via Steam. Not only does this feel unfair, but it also results in a real loss on my side, since those points are now gone and I received nothing in return.

    Not being able to participate in these promotions – despite having purchased the game and being an active player – feels exclusionary. I see no rational reason why Steam users, who log in with the same Xbox account, should be locked out of this ecosystem.

    I sincerely hope this situation is acknowledged and that a fair and inclusive solution is found for all players, regardless of where they purchased Sea of Thieves.

    Kind regards,
    [A concerned Steam user]

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  • Lem0n Curry
    Vanguard
    Insider

    @leafar77 said in Feedback Regarding Xbox Rewards System Disadvantage for Steam Users:

    It says what you need to receive the rewards though.

    You could get a trial version of a game pass that includes SoT, download the 120 GB, log in and receive the coins and hat.

  • leafar77
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @lem0n-curry
    Thanks a lot for your response – that’s definitely a helpful suggestion and a possible workaround. While it does involve some extra effort on my side (getting Game Pass, downloading 120 GB, etc.), it’s good to know that there’s at least some way to make it work.

    That said, I’d like to emphasize that my original post here in the Feedback and Suggestions forum is specifically aimed at highlighting a broader issue and hoping for a proper, long-term solution:

    Steam users – even when signed in with the exact same Xbox account – are currently excluded from Rewards-based content, which feels fundamentally unfair.

    To be honest, I also don’t see any logical or technical justification for this limitation. After all, both versions of the game require the same Xbox login and are tied to the same account ecosystem (even accumulating reward points for playing). So why exclude one group of players simply because they purchased the game via Steam?

    Ideally, Microsoft should ensure platform-independent integration, where Rewards are granted based solely on the Xbox account in use – regardless of where the game was purchased. Alternatively, providing Steam users with the ability to install the game via the Microsoft Store (as was done with Minecraft for Mojang Accounts) would be a fair compromise.

    Still, I really appreciate your input – workarounds like this are useful to know, even if they don’t address the core issue.

    Best regards,

  • Blazebeard2313
    Legend
    Insider

    My issue is different, and I think it impacted many other. Yesterday, you only needed 1700 points to redeem the hat and 150 ac. Today, you can't get that anymore. The only option available is 5100 points for the hat and 550 ac.
    Why?

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @leafar77 said in Feedback Regarding Xbox Rewards System Disadvantage for Steam Users:

    To be honest, I also don’t see any logical or technical justification for this limitation. After all, both versions of the game require the same Xbox login and are tied to the same account ecosystem (even accumulating reward points for playing). So why exclude one group of players simply because they purchased the game via Steam?

    The reason is because the reward deployment is done through the Microsoft Store and it's very rare that you'd be able to authorize purchases from one store in a completely separate store. You can't buy a game on EA or Ubisoft stores and install it in Steam. Steam provides keys to developers to sell themselves, but you're still activating that key within Steam and not some other launcher and there are restrictions on how many keys you can request and how you much you can sell them for.

    The only way to do this via Steam at the moment would be to treat the hat as DLC and provide a Steam key, but that also makes it very easy to create a third party seller market and I'm not sure if Steam would even allow this since they'd be unlikely to want to generate the amount of keys that would be required.

  • leafar77
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @d3adst1ck
    I totally see where your Point is coming from

    However, I’d like to point out that there’s a key distinction here:

    Purchasing the game license through a specific store (Steam, Microsoft Store, etc.) is one thing – but Microsoft Rewards are tied to the Xbox account, not the store license itself.
    You can redeem the Points - it goes straight to your account - your Xbox account is basically just "waiting" for you to login via MS Store app.

    Steam users are required to log in with their Xbox account to play Sea of Thieves – and that same account earns Rewards points and tracks playtime just like on the Microsoft Store version. So if the backend already knows that Xbox account, it seems like it should be possible to assign the reward directly to the Xbox profile (as a service unlock or cosmetic entitlement), without relying on platform-bound DLC delivery.

    Of course I understand the technical and policy limitations when it comes to cross-store installations – but the Rewards system itself already operates independently of the storefront, so it feels like the real issue is how that final reward delivery is implemented.

    If Microsoft can find a way to decouple the reward delivery from the Microsoft Store dependency, I believe that would be a fairer and more inclusive experience for all players – regardless of where they purchased the game.

  • D3ADST1CK
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @leafar77 said in Feedback Regarding Xbox Rewards System Disadvantage for Steam Users:

    @d3adst1ck
    I totally see where your Point is coming from

    However, I’d like to point out that there’s a key distinction here:

    Purchasing the game license through a specific store (Steam, Microsoft Store, etc.) is one thing – but Microsoft Rewards are tied to the Xbox account, not the store license itself.
    You can redeem the Points - it goes straight to your account - your Xbox account is basically just "waiting" for you to login via MS Store app.

    Steam users are required to log in with their Xbox account to play Sea of Thieves – and that same account earns Rewards points and tracks playtime just like on the Microsoft Store version. So if the backend already knows that Xbox account, it seems like it should be possible to assign the reward directly to the Xbox profile (as a service unlock or cosmetic entitlement), without relying on platform-bound DLC delivery.

    Of course I understand the technical and policy limitations when it comes to cross-store installations – but the Rewards system itself already operates independently of the storefront, so it feels like the real issue is how that final reward delivery is implemented.

    If Microsoft can find a way to decouple the reward delivery from the Microsoft Store dependency, I believe that would be a fairer and more inclusive experience for all players – regardless of where they purchased the game.

    Store purchases are activated when booting up that store's client, as outlined in this support article: https://support.seaofthieves.com/articles/360016391320-Redeeming-Purchases-through-the-correct-platforms-Store

    They are not tied to the Microsoft account directly, even if a Microsoft account is involved. There is some kind of check that the client does to see if there are any purchases done by the account in the current platform store before they are loaded into your 'Sea of Thieves' inventory and become usable.

    It's possible that they designed it this way because they had no intention of launching on other stores when the game was in development, and only later retrofit the login process to 'work' when they decided to launch on Steam. They don't have any control of functionality of the MS store, so I don't think they can change that process.

  • PotatoSord
    Marauder
    Insider

    @blazebeard2313 The site said "while supplies last" which doesn't really make sense for a digital item but it'll be what it'll be. They artificially limited the number of codes they could give out for each method.

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