Sea of Thieves has a problem. Technically it has multiple, but this post will be addressing one in particular that has been growing for a while, and there's a decent metaphor I am going to use here.
The Mutation
Sea of Thieves launched as a live service game in 2018. We all know live service games cannot survive on initial game purchases alone. So to support continued development, the emporium was introduced. This was an option for players to buy "little luxuries" like pets, emotes, ship sets and costumes. Just like a somatic mutation, the emporium appeared after the initial "birth" of the game.
Benign Stage
As some somatic mutations go, the emporium developed into a tumor. because of basic economics, the emporium grew close to the heart of the game. Removal would surly result in the game to lose funding and dying. The Developers and Players accept it as a necessary evil. by feeding the game with new content and gold shop offerings, the tumor would get fed in player purchases. When people play and enjoy the game, They use the cash shop.
Malignant Stage
Unfortunately, many benign tumors eventually become malignant. In this case, the main game's updates started slowing down. If the update wasn't delayed, it was broken. and even after delays, it would still probably be broken. Over the past 3 years, the Tumor has been fed more than the actual patient. And it has grown... and grown... and grown. all while the gold economy destabilizes, the gold shop updates are drip fed, no new systems were introduced, and content became more isolated.
The Promised Medicine
Around the end of season 19, the Developers promised to refocus on the gold shop. Finally starting to feed the game and gold shop instead of the tumor. This did not happen. The medicine never arrived. Instead, we got a gutted season pass that took away free ancient coins, gave random pieces of emporium content, and a really neat sword free to all players. 2 months into this season, we are about to get the second half of a clothing set.
Can you remember what we had?
Just to put this all in perspective, in season 10 we had the entire gold leaf ship set released in a single month, with the entire clothing set and vanity items released the next. We also had a full season pass and stacked emporium. We also had commendation rewards for skull of siren song and guilds.
Conclusion
The developers know what needs to be done. we desperately need a refocus on the gold shops and earn-able cosmetics. For the next 6 months, it will be extremely important that Rare keeps profits stable, and that will not happen if people are not playing the game. Gold cosmetic rewards are important, but so is returning the game to a stable economy where we can't just buy everything.
Right now, my wallet is closed. I'd love to open it again Rare, but there's little reason to do so.
