Sea of Thieves Seasons and Events
Sea of Thieves runs roughly three-month seasons, and Season 21 arrived with the 3.9.0 update on September 17, 2026. The pass runs 50 levels paying Doubloon Pouches, playable Voyages, and a choice of cosmetics previously sold in the Pirate Emporium, with the Fate's Light Lantern as the Star Prize at level 50. Progress is measured in Renown, which comes from completing Voyages, Tall Tales, and World Events and from selling treasure. The Premium Tier returns 1000 Ancient Coins and the Mutiny's Mark Ship Collection, and unclaimed pass rewards are now collected for you when a Season ends.
This is the one guide on the site that is openly a snapshot. Everything else about Sea of Thieves holds for years. Seasons do not.
The current season
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Season | Season 21 |
| Arrived with | Patch 3.9.0, published September 17, 2026 |
| Star Prize | Fate's Light Lantern at Renown level 50 |
| Live experiment | Dive To switched off at the Quest Table for every Voyage and Tall Tale |
Season 21 expands Custom Seas with saved Layouts, a time-speed control, and switches covering ship damage and health regeneration, takes the Dive To option off the Quest Table for every Voyage and Tall Tale as a time-limited experiment, and removes the on-demand World Event Raid Voyages for good. Season 20 before it shipped Custom Seas in the first place, rebalanced Bone Callers so their effect scales with ship size, and added the ability to trigger an emote while in Free Camera.
How does the season pass work now?
Season 20 changed the structure, so older explanations no longer match what you see in game.
| Old format | Season 20 onward | |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | 100 | 50 |
| Reward cadence | Varied | Every five levels |
| What each block pays | Varied | Doubloon Pouches, playable Voyages, and a choice of cosmetic previously sold in the Pirate Emporium |
| Star Prize | None | Greed's Reach Cutlass in Season 20, Fate's Light Lantern in Season 21 |
The Star Prize lands when you reach level 50 and complete the Season Pass.
You can also buy your way up, to a limit. Each season allows 10 purchased levels at 150 Ancient Coins each, bought directly from the Season Pass and granted to every Pirate Profile on the account. Rewards from a purchased level can be claimed immediately.
Renown is the progression currency, and Season 20 changed where it comes from. It now pays out for deliberate actions at sea instead of for wandering around:
| Source | Renown |
|---|---|
| Completing Voyages, Tall Tales, and World Events | Yes, the main source |
| Selling any treasure you found | Yes |
| Exploration and fishing | Small amounts |
| Bilge Rats Weekender activities | Yes |
| Sinking Emissary Ships or rivals in Faction Battles and Last Ship Standing | Yes |
That last row is the one most players miss. PvP now feeds the season pass directly, so a crew that only fights is no longer locked out of pass progress.
Finish the voyage instead of abandoning it once the treasure is aboard. Completion pays Renown on top of the sale, so the last leg back to the outpost is worth more than the same time spent starting something new.
The Premium Tier
The free track is available to everyone. The Premium Tier is the new name for the Plunder Pass, and it adds Ancient Coins plus an exclusive ship set on top of the free track.
What it pays back:
- 1000 Ancient Coins for completing the season, spendable in the Pirate Emporium or on the next season's Premium Tier.
- A ship set, which changes with the season. Season 20 paid the Sirens' Splendour set and Season 21 pays the Mutiny's Mark Ship Collection, both including the Collector's Figurehead and Sails.
- A boosted rate of Renown progression for the season, which speeds up both tracks.
You buy it through the Pirate Log or the Pirate Emporium in game, or from the Sea of Thieves website or the Steam item store.
Ancient Coins come from real money purchases and from Ancient Skeletons, which spawn randomly in the world and run away from you. Chasing one down is worth it, and shooting it works better than trying to outrun it.
Unclaimed pass rewards now collect themselves
Patch 3.9.0 added an end-of-season sweep. Any reward you left behind on the Season Pass or the Premium Tier is claimed automatically once the Season ends. On a level that offered a choice of several rewards, the sweep takes an item you do not already own, and if you own all three it awards 150 Ancient Coins instead.
Season 20 had no Acts
Previous seasons split into Acts, each with its own Deeds and time-limited content. Season 20 did not.
Its Deeds lived exclusively inside Custom Seas, and completing one awarded a Renown boost that landed when you returned to the High Seas. Clearing every available Deed in Season 20 paid the Custom Crafter Sails.
Season history
Seasons have run since January 2021 at roughly three-month intervals, with some stretching longer.
| Season | Started | Season | Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Jan 28, 2021 | 11 | Jan 23, 2024 |
| Two | Apr 15, 2021 | 12 | Apr 30, 2024 |
| Three | Jun 22, 2021 | 13 | Jul 25, 2024 |
| Four | Sep 23, 2021 | 14 | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Five | Dec 2, 2021 | 15 | Feb 20, 2025 |
| Six | Mar 10, 2022 | 16 | May 22, 2025 |
| Seven | Aug 4, 2022 | 17 | Aug 14, 2025 |
| Eight | Nov 22, 2022 | 18 | Dec 11, 2025 |
| Nine | Mar 16, 2023 | 19 | Mar 19, 2026 |
| Ten | Oct 19, 2023 | 20 | Jun 18, 2026 |
Season 17 is worth noting because it introduced the Smugglers' League, which is now a permanent faction and no longer seasonal content.
What runs between the big updates?
Rare now runs events on a repeating weekly and monthly clock instead of dropping them at random, which makes them worth planning a session around.
| Event | When | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| Emissaries of Fortune | 24 hours every Wednesday from 10:00 UTC, since August 5, 2026 | An additional reward multiplier per Emissary Grade, stacking on top of existing bonuses |
| Fight Nights | 24 hours every Tuesday from 10:00 UTC, since July 14, 2026, when Last Ship Standing is not running | Double Allegiance and gold for every Faction Battle |
| Bilge Rats Weekender | A long weekend roughly monthly | Limited Voyages, Challenges, and Black Market stock, all paying Doubloons |
Gold and Glory style events raise gold and reputation across the board for a limited window. These do not run in Safer Seas.
What is dated right now
Two events carry announced dates as of patch 3.9.0.
| Event | Dates | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Talk Like a Pirate Day Celebrations | September 17 to 22, 2026 | A Parley Pennant in the ship's Flag Box tells approaching crews you only want to talk |
| Bilge Rats Weekender | October 16 to 19, 2026 | Challenges on the High Seas, Mega Stashes back at the Reaper Fortresses, and new Black Market and Smugglers' Market stock |
The Parley Pennant is the part of the September event that outlasts it. Raise it from the Flag Box and other ships approaching are notified that your crew just wants to talk, and using it to strike up a conversation with three other crews during the event unlocks the Parley Proficiency Sails. Once the event finishes the Pennant becomes a permanent addition to the Flag Box, so only the Sails are time-limited.
The October Weekender sets Challenges that task crews on the High Seas with exploding sharks, orienteering, and various hijinks with other crews. It also brings a chance of Mega Stashes back to the Reaper Fortresses, which replace the Vault contents with a higher-value treasure pile, and its Event Goals pay Doubloons.
The Black Market takes new stock for the Weekender:
- Jacket of Boneward Blade
- Warring Seas Trousers
- Spider's Venom Hat
- Bloodstone Dragon Eyepatch
- Hungering One Hunter's Pegleg
- Famous Pirate Gloves
- Master of the High Seas Hair
- Shadow Tide Beard
- High-Spirited Spin Emote
- Tailor's Apron, which needs Pirate Legend status
The Smugglers' Market restocks too, and its contents stay hidden until players find Duke in his new location.
Outside the event calendar, the Outpost shops take new stock across Season 21. The shipwrights receive the Fisherman's Fable ship set, celebrating the Legendary Hunter Merrick, with a Figurehead, Sails, Hull, and Flag. The Pirate Legend Hideout receives the Courteous Knave set across the season, and its clothing is already on sale, with Pirate Legend status required to buy. The Cast Iron set reaches Outpost shops during the season, and the weaponsmiths already hold the Cast Iron Cutlass, Pistol, Blunderbuss, and Eye of Reach for gold. Patch 3.8.2 had earlier put the Community Collaboration Hull, Sails, and Flag into shipwright stock, designed alongside players during SoTFest 2026.
The Bilge Rats Weekender
The Weekender debuted from April 16 to 20, 2026 and became the main delivery mechanism for event content. Larinna moves inside the tavern for the duration and opens the Bilge Rats Black Market, and each evening at 9pm in-game time a chosen Outpost hosts a firework display with the viewing spot marked out. Larinna posts the schedule, so you can plan around it.
Three things pay Doubloons during a Weekender:
- Limited Voyages. The debut ran the Smugglers' Doubloon Run and Recovery of a Secret Shipment. Since the June Weekender every player is issued five of these Voyages, up from one.
- Challenges. Lighthearted objectives available on High Seas, completable in any order, solo or crewed, each paying Doubloons.
- A returning Live Event. Each Weekender brings back one event from the game's history, such as the Festival of Fishing or the Raid on a Dark Fortress.
Hand in more than three of your own Doubloon Crates or Secret Shipment Crates during a Weekender and every crate after that pays gold instead of Doubloons. Crates taken off a rival crew keep paying Doubloons with no cap, which is exactly the behavior the design is pushing you toward.
What has been vaulted
Content does get removed permanently, and this is the part players are most often wrong about.
The Arena and the Sea Dogs company were removed in patch 2.5.0. The Arena was the dedicated competitive PvP mode with 15-minute organized matches, and Sea Dogs was its 50-rank Trading Company. Neither has returned, and the Sea Dogs reputation track no longer exists. Anyone who ranked it before removal keeps the cosmetics, and nobody new can earn them.
Ghost Fleet was disabled after patch 2.4.2 and later reinstated in Season 9 with a thin green tornado replacing its old sky signal. It is a returned event, not a vaulted one.
Tall Tales have never been vaulted. All four campaigns plus the Maiden Voyage remain playable, including both licensed crossovers.
Seasonal cosmetic rewards are generally time-limited. A cosmetic tied to a season pass or a limited event is usually gone when that window closes, which is the one genuine reason to care about finishing a pass before it ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What season is Sea of Thieves on right now?
Season 21, which arrived with the 3.9.0 update on September 17, 2026. The pass runs 50 levels of Renown paying Doubloon Pouches, playable Voyages, and a choice of cosmetics previously sold in the Pirate Emporium, with the Fate's Light Lantern as the Star Prize at level 50.
What happened to the Plunder Pass in Sea of Thieves?
It was renamed the Premium Tier in patch 3.8.0. Completing the season on it returns 1000 Ancient Coins, the ship set it pays changes with the season and Season 21's is the Mutiny's Mark Ship Collection with its Collector's Figurehead and Sails, and buying it also boosts your Renown progression rate for that season.
What is Renown in Sea of Thieves?
The season progression currency. Since Season 20 it comes from completing Voyages, Tall Tales, and World Events, from selling treasure, and from sinking Emissary Ships or rivals in Faction Battles and Last Ship Standing. Exploration and fishing still pay small amounts.
Was the Arena removed from Sea of Thieves?
Yes, permanently. The Arena and its Sea Dogs Trading Company were removed in patch 2.5.0. Sea Dogs had a 50-rank reputation track that no longer exists, and its cosmetics can no longer be earned by anyone who did not rank it before removal.
How long does a Sea of Thieves season last?
Roughly three months, though the range has varied from about 10 to 20 weeks across the twenty seasons with published start dates since January 2021. Season 20 ran 13 weeks from June 18, 2026.
What events are running in Sea of Thieves right now?
Two are dated as of patch 3.9.0. Talk Like a Pirate Day Celebrations run September 17 to 22, 2026 and put a Parley Pennant in the ship's Flag Box, with the Parley Proficiency Sails for talking to three other crews and the Pennant itself staying permanently afterward. A Bilge Rats Weekender runs October 16 to 19, 2026 with Challenges on the High Seas, a chance of Mega Stashes at the Reaper Fortresses, and new Black Market and Smugglers' Market stock.
What happens to Season Pass rewards you never claimed?
They are claimed for you when the Season ends, across both the Season Pass and the Premium Tier. On a level offering a choice of several rewards the game claims an item you do not own, and if you already own all three it awards 150 Ancient Coins instead.
What to Read Next
- Custom Seas. The Season 20 headline feature in full, plus the Layouts, commands, and switches Season 21 added to it.
- Trading Companies and Reputation. Emissary grades, which the Wednesday event multiplies, and the Doubloon economy behind the Weekender.
- Last Ship Standing. The battle mode that Fight Nights schedule around.
- Voyages and Treasure. The voyages and treasure sales that pay the Renown a season pass runs on.
- Safer Seas and High Seas. Which live events do not run in Safer Seas.
- Achievements Overview. Where seasonal and retired achievements sit in the Steam list.