How to get Sea of Thieves free is the question I get asked most once friends see the price. Sea of Thieves is an open-world multiplayer pirate adventure where crews sail, hunt treasure, and betray each other across a shared ocean. Steam now lists the game as the 2026 Edition at $39.99, since Rare refreshes the listing yearly without wiping progress. That price is what this guide removes, plus a real “bring a friend” promotion most guides never mention.
Two paths get you there. Snakzy pays coins for playing mobile games, which convert into a Steam gift card, so you spend $0 out of pocket. Eneba sells a key for about $19.67, a 51% saving, if you would rather buy now. Both routes end in a legitimate license.
| Game Info | Details |
|---|---|
| Game price | $39.99 on Steam (2026 Edition) |
| Metacritic rating | 67 critic, 5.0 user; OpenCritic “Fair,” 69 Top Critic Average, 37% recommend |
| Steam user reviews | Very Positive, 88% of over 320,000 reviews |
| Genre | Open-world multiplayer pirate adventure |
| Developer | Rare Ltd. |
| Publisher | Xbox Game Studios |
Is Sea of Thieves Free?
No, Sea of Thieves is a paid game priced at $39.99 on Steam, with no permanent free-to-play version. It has been available as part of Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass since launch, and Rare has previously run “friends play free” promotional weeks, letting existing owners invite up to three friends to try the full game at no cost for a limited time. PlayStation players do not benefit from Game Pass and must purchase the game directly. If none of those apply to you, Snakzy or a discounted Eneba key are the legitimate ways to get a permanent copy.
What Is Sea of Thieves?
At its core, Sea of Thieves is a shared-world pirate sandbox with no fixed roles, developed by Rare and published by Xbox Game Studios. You crew a ship with friends, hunt buried treasure, and run Tall Tales story voyages. You can also fight the Kraken or a Megalodon, then risk losing everything to a rival crew before you reach port. Progression is cosmetic and reputation-based, so a day-one pirate and an eight-year veteran compete on equal footing.
Rare launched the game on Xbox One and Windows on March 20, 2018, built on Unreal Engine 4. Steam players joined on June 3, 2020, and PS5 followed on April 30, 2024, one of Microsoft’s first major multiplatform pushes. The sparse 2018 launch is ancient history now, since Rare rebuilt the game into a content-rich live service over years of free updates. Content runs deep today: quarterly Seasons add 50 levels of Renown each time, and Tall Tales include A Pirate’s Life, a crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean. Reception is genuinely split: critics landed at a 67 Metascore and OpenCritic’s “Fair” rating with only 37% recommending it, largely criticizing thin early progression, while Steam’s own community has stayed remarkably warm at 88% Very Positive across more than 320,000 reviews, reflecting how much the live-service content has grown since launch.
How Much Does Sea of Thieves Cost?
Sea of Thieves costs $39.99 on Steam for the 2026 Edition. Sales have pushed it as low as $13.95, a 65% cut, and it’s also sold in Deluxe and Premium bundles that include bonus digital media like the official soundtrack and an audiobook. If you’d rather not wait for a sale, the Snakzy method below covers the price no matter what it’s currently listed at.
Has Sea of Thieves Ever Had a Free Trial?
Yes, and it’s genuinely useful to know about. Rare has run official “friends play free” weeks before, letting anyone who owns the game, including through an active Game Pass subscription, invite up to three friends to try the complete game at no cost for a limited window, with a discount offered afterward for anyone who decides to buy. It’s also worth being direct: Sea of Thieves has been on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass since launch, a genuinely free route if you already subscribe to either. PS5 players don’t get that benefit and must buy through the PlayStation Store at full price. If none of those apply to you, Snakzy or a discounted Eneba key remain the paths to a permanent copy.
Sea of Thieves Platform Availability
| Platform | Notes |
|---|---|
| PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) | Included in PC Game Pass; this guide’s Snakzy method targets Steam |
| Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S | Included in Xbox Game Pass |
| PS5 | Full purchase required, no Game Pass equivalent |
Sea of Thieves launched on Xbox One and Windows in 2018, arrived on Steam in 2020, and reached PS5 in April 2024. There is no PS4 or Nintendo Switch version. Since Snakzy rewards redeem for a Steam gift card, this guide’s free method targets the Steam PC release specifically.
Sea of Thieves System Requirements
| Spec | Notes |
|---|---|
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Baseline | A modern mid-range PC handles it comfortably; storage requirements have grown considerably over years of content updates |
Years of live-service updates have expanded Sea of Thieves’s install size well beyond its 2018 launch footprint, so it’s worth double-checking your available storage before downloading, alongside the usual mid-range CPU and GPU baseline.
How Does Sea of Thieves Play?
The core loop puts a crew of up to four aboard a shared ship, sailing toward voyages that hunt buried treasure, deliver cargo, or chase down a bounty, all while other player crews roam the same seas ready to steal your loot the moment your guard drops. There’s no fixed class or role, cooperation and communication with your crew matter more than any individual build.
Beyond core voyages, Tall Tales deliver structured narrative content, including the Pirates of the Caribbean crossover, A Pirate’s Life, and world events like Kraken and Megalodon encounters test a crew’s coordination under pressure. Quarterly Seasons keep adding fresh Renown progression, cosmetics, and content, and notably Microsoft has never charged for any downloadable content since launch, meaning the game keeps growing without players ever needing to spend beyond the initial purchase.
Sea of Thieves Top Features
- Emergent, unscripted stories – Every voyage produces genuinely unique moments of triumph, betrayal, and chaos.
- No-role crew play – Up to four players share a ship with no fixed classes, only cooperation.
- All post-launch content free – Microsoft has never charged for a single piece of downloadable content since 2018.
- Tall Tales and world events – Structured narrative voyages, including a Pirates of the Caribbean crossover, alongside Kraken and Megalodon encounters.
- Included in Xbox and PC Game Pass – A genuinely free path for subscribers, with periodic “friends play free” promotions on top.
How To Get Sea of Thieves Free With Snakzy
Snakzy is a rewards app where you complete offers, download apps, fill out surveys, and play partner games to earn coins. No credit card is required at any point. Because Sea of Thieves is $39.99, most users clear it comfortably within a single payout cycle.
Steps:
- Download Snakzy on Android from the Google Play Store; iOS users can access it through the web version, as there is currently no native iOS app.
- Browse available offers inside the app. Offers vary by region and rotate regularly.
- Complete offers to earn coins, tracking your progress toward $39.99 inside the app.
- Redeem coins for a Steam gift card once your balance hits the required threshold.
- Use the gift card to buy Sea of Thieves on Steam.
Minimum cashout threshold is $35. On average, users earn their first $27.70 payout within 6.5 days, close to fully covering this game’s price on its own. Payout speed and offer availability vary by country, so check current rates inside the app before planning around a specific timeline.
Get Sea of Thieves Cheaper On Eneba
Not everyone wants to build up a Snakzy balance before playing. Eneba sells a Sea of Thieves key for about $19.67, roughly a 51% saving off the $39.99 official price, for anyone who’d rather buy today. The key is a genuine, permanent license, redeemed the same way as a normal purchase. Prices fluctuate, so check the live listing before checkout.
Is It Legal To Get Sea of Thieves Free With Snakzy?
Yes. Snakzy pays users in coins for completing offers, those coins convert into a real Steam gift card, and the gift card is used for an official Steam purchase. Rare gets paid the same as if you had bought the game directly, and the result is a legitimate license tied to your Steam account.
What to avoid: unofficial “free download” sites and cracked installers. These carry real malware risk and no legitimate license, and a cracked copy of an entirely online multiplayer game like Sea of Thieves simply can’t access matchmaking or the shared ocean at all. Buying or earning your copy through legitimate means keeps Rare’s steady stream of free content coming.
Verdict
Sea of Thieves tells a genuinely split story worth knowing before you buy: a 67 Metascore and lukewarm 37% critic recommendation on OpenCritic, contrasted with an 88% Very Positive Steam rating from over 320,000 players who’ve stuck around for years of free live-service growth. It’s best judged by what it’s become rather than how it launched, and its inclusion in Xbox and PC Game Pass makes it one of the more accessible titles in this guide series.
If Game Pass isn’t in the picture, getting it for free comes down to time rather than money: download Snakzy, work offers toward the $35 redemption threshold, and redeem for a Steam gift card that comfortably covers the $39.99 price. From there, buying Sea of Thieves is just a normal Steam checkout.
FAQs
Is Sea of Thieves free to play?
No, it’s a paid game priced at $39.99 on Steam with no permanent free-to-play version. It’s included with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. Without either subscription, Snakzy or a discounted Eneba key are the legitimate ways to get a permanent copy.
Does Sea of Thieves let friends play free?
Rare has previously run official “friends play free” weeks, letting owners invite up to three friends to try the full game at no cost for a limited window. These are periodic promotions, not a standing feature.
What platforms is Sea of Thieves on?
PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store, plus Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and PS5 since April 2024. There is no PS4 or Nintendo Switch version.
What is the Metacritic score for Sea of Thieves?
It sits at 67 critic score with a 5.0 user score, and OpenCritic rates it “Fair.” Steam’s own reviews are considerably warmer, at 88% Very Positive from over 320,000 reviews.
Is it safe to get Sea of Thieves through Snakzy?
Yes. Snakzy-earned Steam gift cards are redeemed through Steam’s official checkout, making the resulting purchase fully legitimate. Avoid unofficial free download sites instead, since those carry real malware and account-ban risk with no legal license attached.
