Sea of Thieves November Update: Why It Needs a Full Redownload

Sea of Thieves' November update arrives on Thursday 19 November, and it's a big one to download: Rare says it "requires a complete redownload of the game". The payoff is a smaller install once it's done. Here's why, what the update adds and what else is on the November calendar.

When is the Sea of Thieves November update?

Thursday 19 November. Rare will take the game down that day to put the update in place. It hasn't given a time for the maintenance yet, so expect the servers to be offline for part of the day.

Why do I have to redownload Sea of Thieves?

Because Rare has changed how the game's files are compressed. In its November round-up, the studio says its teams "have been working hard on improving file compression within the game" and that, as a result, Sea of Thieves "will now take up much less space on your devices". That change touches the game's files across the board, which is why you download all of it again rather than a normal patch.

How big is the download?

Rare hasn't said yet. For scale, the Steam page currently asks for 100GB of free storage. Rare hasn't said how big the new, smaller install will be or how much space it saves. Its patch notes for the update, due on 19 November, are where those numbers would appear. If you're on a capped or slow connection, plan the download for a time you can leave it running.

What's in the November update?

• Quality-of-life additions, which Rare hasn't listed in detail yet.
• Custom Seas improvements, including tweaks to the Free Camera and more items in the Spawn Menu.
• Old Boot Fort returns as a Legendary Location, the island as it looked before the Fort of the Damned appeared.
• The Orchid's Sting set in the Pirate Emporium, which Rare teases as "a face from Rare's past" bringing "some killer moves".

What else is on in November?

• Bilge Rats Weekender: Friday 13 to Monday 16 November. Challenges, fireworks and Doubloons, plus the return of the Festival of Fishing: everyone can raise a Hunter's Call Emissary Flag for faster Grade progress, and finishing the two limited Voyages before it ends pays out extra gold, reputation and Doubloons.
• Renown Rally: Friday 20 to Monday 23 November, a boost to Renown earnings to help you climb the Season Pass.
• Pirate Emporium Black Friday Sale: Wednesday 25 November to Wednesday 2 December, up to 50% off almost everything, including items from A Pirate's Life and The Legend of Monkey Island. The Golden Skull Sails return for the length of the sale only.
• Emissaries of Fortune: every Wednesday, 10am to 10am UTC, with bigger Emissary rewards.
• Fight Nights: every Tuesday, boosting rewards from Faction Battles.

Earlier in the month, Last Ship Standing: Sloops ran from 3 to 10 November and the Twitch Drops campaign from 6 to 11 November.

When does Season 21 end?

In December, says Rare, without a date yet. That leaves a few weeks to finish the Season Pass, and the Renown Rally weekend is the quickest way to get there.

Looking for another pirate co-op game? Last Pirates: Die Together reached Xbox with Steam crossplay this week.