In a recent post on Reddit, user vJoeyz shared news regarding a possible Sea of Thieves open-beta. The information, obtained by digging through newly added files for the insiders-only version of the game, contains multiple references to content for an unannounced open beta. The only way the closed beta could be accessed was to either have it pre-ordered or be a member of the games insider program.

In terms of content mentioned in the post, the most interesting may come in the form several mentions of the Order of Souls quests. Order of Souls is one of the three announced factions for the game, alongside The Gold Hoarders and The Merchant Alliance. During the closed beta, the only faction available was the Gold Hoarders but fans could soon be off battling skeleton pirates with the Order of Souls.

There is plenty of other content mentioned in the post as well, several of which are cosmetics. Not only will island and ship cosmetic chests be available but more customization options for the pirate generator will be added. Some of these include scars, tattoos, hair color, makeup, skin color, and several others.

New game mechanics are also mentioned in the post. Behavior and combat effects are to be added to the large kraken battles featured in the game. Tweaks are also being done of enemy difficulty, with more difficulty ranks being added to skeleton enemies.

While all this should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s easy to see why a Rare and Microsoft would be gearing up for an open beta. With the hype surrounding the game right now thanks to the closed-beta and high twitch viewership, not to mention a limited edition controller set to be released, the studios would want to keep riding this high up until the game’s release and an open-beta could go a long way towards that.

Whether it ends up happening or not, it doesn’t seem like players are going to be forgetting about the game anytime soon. Despite much criticism pointed towards Microsoft’s first party games Sea of Thieves has always proven to be a bright spot in the public eye, especially with the game set to feature cross-play between Xbox and PC, a step most gamers would agree is in the right direction. It’s now all up to Microsoft and Rare to ensure smooth sailing.

Sea of Thieves will release on March 20, 2018 for Xbox One and PC.