‘Sea of Thieves’ Is Heading to the Big Screen With a Live-Action Movie

The world of video game adaptations continues to grow, and one of Xbox’s most beloved titles is now preparing to make the jump to the big screen.

Sea of Thieves, the popular pirate adventure game that has attracted millions of players since its release, is officially being turned into a live-action movie. The project marks another major step in Xbox’s efforts to expand its gaming franchises into Hollywood following the recent success of several film and television adaptations.

The project is the latest step in Xbox’s growing effort to bring its gaming franchises to movie theaters and streaming platforms. Following the massive success of A Minecraft Movie and the hit Fallout television series, Xbox appears more confident than ever about adapting its biggest titles for new audiences.

Sea of Thieves has been one of Xbox’s most successful online games since its launch. Developed by Rare and published by Xbox Game Studios, the game lets players become pirates in a large open-world setting. Players can search for treasure, fight skeleton armies, sail across dangerous seas, form alliances, and create their own adventures with friends.

Unlike many video games, Sea of Thieves does not center around one specific hero or storyline. Instead, the experience is built around players and the stories they create together. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Xbox executive Matt Booty explained why the game is such a unique challenge to adapt.

“The main character of a Sea of Thieves game is actually the player and the community,” Booty said. He continued by explaining that while the game may not have a traditional lead character, it does have a very clear identity. “It’s a super social game, but there’s a tone to Sea of Thieves. It’s built on a very cooperative community, so you can start to sense what that’s going to be like.”

The movie already has a major Hollywood name attached. Destin Daniel Cretton, known for directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, will produce the project through his company, Hisako. A director has not yet been announced.

The Sea of Thieves adaptation is only one part of Xbox’s larger entertainment strategy. Entertainment Weekly reports that more than a dozen film and television projects based on Xbox properties are currently in development.

Several of those projects have already been revealed. A sequel to A Minecraft Movie is moving forward, while Netflix is developing both a live-action movie and an animated series based on Gears of War. A Minecraft animated series is also in development, and Amazon is working on a live-action Wolfenstein television show. The Fallout universe continues to expand as well, with a third season already on the way.

The success of recent gaming adaptations has encouraged studios to invest more heavily in video game stories. A Minecraft Movie became one of the highest-grossing films of 2025, while Fallout became one of the most-watched series on Amazon Prime Video.

Xbox leadership believes these results show that gaming franchises can succeed beyond consoles. Asha Sharma, the recently appointed CEO of Xbox, spoke about the growing interest in adapting games into entertainment projects.

“You won’t see us try to become the biggest linear provider in the world or anything like that, but I think great games are culture, and culture is entertainment,” Sharma said. She also pointed to the popularity of Xbox-owned franchises, noting that “there’s more appetite to work with us on titles than ever before.”

For now, details about the Sea of Thieves movie remain limited. There is no release date, cast, or plot information available yet. However, the announcement alone is already generating excitement among fans who have spent years exploring the game’s oceans and creating their own pirate legends.

With Xbox continuing to expand its presence in Hollywood, Sea of Thieves could become the next major video game franchise to find success on the big screen.

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