Video game developer Rare is preparing to launch an action-adventure game for next year. Titled "Sea of Thieves," Microsoft and Xbox, apparently, have confidence in the upcoming title that they are letting it bypass the usual certification process for new games.
In an interview with Stevivor, game developer Joe Neate from Rare shared how the game earned this unique perk. "Our release of the game will not be tested by Xbox because we've released the game so many times and we've not had any issues," he said.
He added that the submission process itself is a "time-consuming period." However, the developers roll out constant updates for "Sea of Thieves." New content is being added to it every week and testers, in turn, to see if the new updates will make or break the game.
In a way, the game is in a constant battery of playtests, much like the process involved in Microsoft's traditional certification for Xbox games. Both playtesters and the game developers are working diligently to ensure the game's playability, and this has been going on for 18 months.
Neate also pointed out that the bug count for "Sea of Thieves" has always been under a hundred. Other games that are close to launch usually have their bug counts in thousands.
The Rare developer did point out that they would take a break from all the updates when the game obtains a fixed release date. Neate estimates that "Sea of Thieves" will not be getting updates a week before its launch.
Still, Microsoft's confidence in the game could be a double-edged sword. For one, it is a sign that "Sea of Thieves" is being examined constantly enough that it automatically earns Microsoft's approval as an Xbox game. On the other hand, if the game proves to be bug-ridden and unplayable on release, the backlash will fall not only Rare, but on Microsoft as well.
