Sea of Thieves servers seeing longer wait times as PS5 closed beta gets underway

eurogamer.net:

It looks like PS5 players can't wait to don tricornes and raise anchor; Sea of Thieves is currently experiencing «longer wait times that normal», according to developer Rare, thanks to a «high volume» of new players joining the game as part of today's freshly launched PS5 Closed Beta.

Sea of Thieves' Closed Beta is open to anyone that pre-orders the PlayStation 5 version ahead of its launch later this month, giving participants the opportunity to experience the full swashbuckling multiplayer pirate adventure — albeit only with fellow PlayStation plunderers for the time being — between today, 12th April, and Monday, 15th April.

And a seeming surge of freshly minted pirates is causing a bit of a server blip, with Rare having taken to social media to warn that the PS5 Closed Beta is «currently experiencing a high volume of new players, which may result in longer waiting times than normal as pirates enter the Sea of Thieves.» And, yes, the lengthier load times are affecting Xbox and PC players over in the full game too, as I just went upstairs to corroborate with my own eyes.

Once PS5 players do manage to cross the Devil's Shroud for their maiden voyage upon the Sea of Thieves, any progress they make can be carried across to the full release (where'll they'll also get to sail with Xbox and PC players) on 30th April.

That's the same day Sea of Thieves will be ushering in a new season of fresh content, with Season 12 introducing a host of new tools and toys. There are new weapons in the form of the double-barrelled flintlock pistol and throwing knife, new Scattershot cannonballs, the new Bone Caller throwable, and the largely self-explanatory Wind Caller. And that's still not quite everything; Season 12 also introduces zip lines (first seen in last year's fab Monkey Island Tall Tales) and a harpoon line overhaul, enabling pirates to tightrope across them.

Season 12 is