Sea of Thievesโ 4 Player Party Limit Has a Specific Purpose
With Sea of Thievesโ release date fast approaching, some gamers are questioning the low party size in the beta. In response, developer Rare (who crated classics like Donkey Kong Country, Goldeneye 007,and Perfect Dark) explains their reasoning behind the decision.
According to lead designer Mike Chapman, the small party size was chosen to promote more intimate communication.
โThe biggest ship was designed for four,โ he said. โWeโve looked at feedback and of course thereโs people who want an 8-player ship, a 10-player ship. The thinking there, as with everything in this game, is really intentful.โ
โIf the two of us were to go out to the pub together with two other friends, youโve got that intimate relationship, youโre all getting on together. If it becomes six or eight people, you start getting people splintering off and itโs really hard to communicate โ four seems like the magic number.โ
While the party size wonโt be changing for the official release, players will gain the ability to sail a four-person galleon solo. Along their journey, they can use the gameโs โMake Friendsโ emote to put together a crew.
The flipside is that four players can take control of one small sloop, a tactic that Chapman says could be used for surprise attacks.
But with a game like this, many of these features could change or evolve.
โOf course, weโre going to keep looking at this beyond launchโ, said Chapman. โThere may be other things weโll do with ships in the future.โ