If you’re not at all connected to the world of Sea of Thieves, you might not have heard about the ongoing controversy surrounding the game’s creator-based Partner Program. In recent days, a scandal has surfaced regarding a particular creator, endorsed by Rare through the Partner Program, who was embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations, reportedly involving minors.
Per reports, a Sea of Thieves ambassador was accused of having inappropriate conversations with minors and making crude jokes and comments about underage players. While Rare banned their accounts and the creator deleted their social profiles, the scandal worsened when other creators accused Rare of trying to suppress the situation.
Rare has now released a statement reiterating the Sea of Thieves community values, which some have slammed on social media.
Sea of Thieves Scandal, Explained
I won’t drop names, but in recent weeks, accusations have surfaced on social media about a disgraced creator at the heart of the Sea of Thieves Partner Program, actively backed by Rare. This individual was alleged to have engaged minors in sexual conversations and gone so far as to request explicit images.
While the user has since scrubbed the internet of their presence and Rare has banned them from Sea of Thieves, the situation is far from resolved.
Multiple creators took to social media to state their resignation from the Partner Program tied to Sea of Thieves, stating directly that Rare had tried to ‘cover up’ the situation. It was alleged that Rare’s moderation teams had tried to delete any communications about the scandal and that they, until now, refused to publicly address the controversy.
Others felt that Rare took too long to act on the information presented to them, which is itself a massive issue, given the nature of the accusations.
In a statement, Rare explained what happens now.
Rare Speaks on Sea of Thieves ‘Minor’ Controversy
On May 15, Rare posted a lengthy statement on the Sea of Thieves site:
At Rare, we have a responsibility to look after both the communities we support and our staff. We are committed to protecting people from harassment, abuse and harm. The recent allegations we’ve seen surface online are deeply concerning and do not align with our values.
We know it can be difficult to report harassment or abuse, and we want those who come forward to feel heard and supported. Every report is treated confidentially, and we do not discuss specific incidents or actions publicly. We assess all reports carefully and, where allegations are supported, we act quickly and escalate through the appropriate channels, including platform owners and law enforcement where necessary.
Games, communities and online spaces are always evolving, and so will our policies, processes and programmes to ensure the ongoing security and safety of our players. In areas where we need more nuance and scrutiny moving forward, internal investigations will be undertaken to identify where improvements can and should be made.
Though we will not be sharing outcomes from any such investigations publicly, players may recognise some of the changes that are made in future.
Because of the difficult environment this has created for other Boatswains, we have decided to retire the role with immediate effect. We will be taking some time to review and tighten up the processes around how we onboard and evaluate members of all our community programmes, and will be making wider community-facing changes in future.
We have a duty of care to protect our community and our team against personal harassment, abuse and other behaviours which may endanger their wellbeing. Our policy is to disengage from conversation with anyone who chooses to take that approach during discussions.
We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed behaviour that breaches our Code of Conduct to report it to our Customer Support team so it can be reviewed and acted on.
Finally, thank you to our players for their continued support and engagement with Sea of Thieves. We’re committed to working with you to ensure both the game and the community is the best as it can be.
On Reddit, users were quick to jump on the post.
One accused Rare of just generating an apology using Microsoft’s CoPilot tool, while others mentioned that the typical PR speak felt insincere and tone-deaf.
Another user suggested that the statement, rather than the wider situation, is what’s pushing them to get rid of Sea of Thieves:
Rare’s positivity require requirement for the Discord is what allowed this to happen. I was hoping for a better statement, but with this? I’m uninstalling the game.
Do you stand by Rare or by the community regarding this situation? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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