Sea Of Thieves Latest Expansion Includes A Monkey Island Easter Egg
Shiver me timbers, there's more nautical fun to be had with the latest Sea of Thieves expansion. Away from Captain Jack Sparrow sailing the Black Pearl into our lives, it turns out that Rare has snuck a clever nod to Monkey Island into this seafaring adventure.
While Sea of Thieves has been out since 2018, it's safe to say the online multiplayer has navigated some choppy waters. However, as Microsoft charts course for a brighter future with more exclusives, Sea of Thieves is hoisting the mainsail and hoping to do better.
With a surprise Easter egg that no one saw coming, the long-forgotten Monkey Island has also found a new lease of life by piggybacking Sea's newfound success.
What is the Monkey Island Easter egg in Sea of Thieves?
Despite Disney taking over the Monkey Island licence from LucasArts Games in 2012, there hasn't been a new game since 2010. There are potential plans for the future of the franchise (which we'll get onto in a minute), but with Sea of Thieves' recent Pirates of the Caribbean crossover allowing the perfect opportunity for a Disney tie-in, the lives of Guybush Threepwood and LeChuck have merged with Cap'n Jack.
There are mild spoilers ahead, so ye've been warned - turn back or cross our palms with silver and enter the next part if ye dare. During one part of Sea of Thieves: A Pirates Life, you come across a shipwreck. Although there doesn't seem anything too out of the ordinary, eagle-eared players might be able to hear a familiar theme song from Monkey Island.
Tying into the lore of both games, the glass-bottomed boat belongs to Monkey Island 2's Captain Kate Capsize. The logs suggest that a vengeful Capsize followed Guybrush into Sea of Thieves, but exploring the shipwreck, it looks like things didn't end too well for her. We may not be video game developers, but this screams potential Monkey Island plot for the next game.
Is there a new Monkey Island game on the way?
It's no secret that Monkey Island was inspired by Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride, with both properties coming out long before Johnny Depp was rowing his way to the top of the box office with the live-action movie series of the same name. With Pirates heading for a reboot that reportedly won't feature Depp as Captain Jack, it looks like he could be confined to the Davey Jones' Locked of video games.
In terms of where Monkey Island goes next, it hasn't gone unnoticed that we haven't had a new game in 11 years. Co-creator Ron Gilbert pleaded with Disney to sell him back the right to the franchise in 2016, but apart from a 2017 petition to grant Gilbert his wishes getting over 28k signatures, the series has been left marooned at sea.
It was in 2016 that Disney wound down production on its own games and instead optioned out IPs to other developers. Ironically, it was around this time that Sea of Thieves started to take shape. A Sea of Thieves Easter egg is sadly all we have to go on for now, but with a renewed interest in Monkey Island, let's hope Disney decides to unearth the buried treasure of this lost legacy.
