Well, the Sea of Thieves crew at Rare figured the discussions around updates and server issues had left them quite strained and decided it was time for a wholesome break. They invited the players to send them pictures of their pets, be they the in-game animal helpers or the real-life furry friends. And the community was simply terrific with their replies. The simple request turned into an overwhelming stream of cute pictures and humorous stories which, in fact, proved that even in a game centered around pirates and looting, everyone still loves pets the most.
The Sea of Thieves social media account took to Twitter and expressed the following: “We would very much like to receive photos of your pets and also their names! Whether they are in the game or in real life, we adore animals and it is not a restriction.” It was quite a simple request, don’t you think? Just a community engagement activity. But sometimes the simplest ideas create the biggest impact. Players reacted immediately, and the replies were flooded with the pictures of dogs, cats, bunnies, and even some in-game monkeys and parrots. It was a sheer flood of cuteness.
There was an immediate and huge response from the community. Gamers kept posting pictures without stopping. For instance, Elizabeth Barrett impressed all with her black and elegant cat named Midnight. Captain GG_R introduced Daasty Ginny, a tiny and cute pig, to all. xLadyRaine’s cat Maxxie and DakaTheWanderer’s dog Brutus were also in the picture, with the latter looking terrific after a bath. And it was Brutus who had the photo humorously captioned that he was shivering which, okay, maybe he was. But nonetheless, he looked fantastic while doing it!
And then there came the names!!! The names had such a huge impact. Ivan Moya had a dog named Mastuerzo and a cat named Garbanzo; he said, “They love to go BOOM,” which is… worrying but funny. Tayah Short had a bunny named BunBun, which was her pet both in reality and in the game; that is a pretty serious commitment. The Happy Ghoul went meg hunting with Mortimer, his sidekick. And user L0w shared the po…
Perhaps not everything was all smooth sailing, however. This is the internet and a gaming community forum, and, of course, some people just couldn’t restrain themselves! The usual complaints about game problems shadowed the pet pictures. Dave+ (xMLG_Drizzy) vented his frustration about the servers he called “incredibly laggy” and about his crew being kicked off which made the game “unplayable.” Jacob Heffernan inquired whether the regular Fort of Fortunes had been removed from the game or if it was only those with the hat. And McChickeney continued his personal quest, stating, “Day 822 of asking sea of thieves to add full fallen sea dog set.” I guess the grind never stops.
Then there came this one guy, Woglodyte, who decided to bring his strange, off-topic rant disguised as a lovely pet thread. He told Rare to “stop catering to the the collective of mental illness” and to “start actually doing ur jobs.” What an odd, messed up choice to make in a thread overflowing with puppies. It was a choice nonetheless. Most players just kept posting about their cats and ignored it.
But this is the real story. For every grievance or odd remark, there were a dozen other players sharing their lives with the game they adore. For example, KoboldZiel introduced Loki, “The Floof of Mischief.” Pixxy_Doll had two dogs, Moxie and Blaze. Then Spoonman was in the game and real life with a dog named Tango. The player turnout was stunning and it proved that players want not only to connect with the developers but also with one another on a human level as non-pirates on the high sea.
The event has made it clear that the players’ furry friends are the main characters in Sea of Thieves, both as a gameplay feature and a community touchstone. Pets like monkeys, parrots, cats, and dogs can be purchased in the game and are allowed to accompany you on the ship. However, they are not doing anything productive; they are just sitting there looking cute and sometimes disturbing the players with their noises. Still, they are adored by the players who name them, show them off, and treat them as part of the crew. This thread has highlighted that the love for these virtual animals is almost on par with the love for real ones.
So what’s the takeaway? That even when the issues are mainly about server stability, new content, and battle passes, sometimes just a fun question is all a game’s social media can do. It cuts through the noise and reminds everyone of the reason they play on PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
