Sea of Thieves turns pirate fantasy into a genuine sandbox. There is no set path, just a ship, a crew, and an ocean full of treasure, rival players, and the occasional kraken. The stories that come out of a good session, whether triumphant or disastrous, are almost always better than anything a scripted campaign could write.
If you have sailed the Sea of Thieves and want more of that mix of teamwork, exploration, and open-ended pirate chaos, these 15 games deliver it from different angles. Some share the pirate fantasy directly, some lean into different co-op survival structures, and some trade the high seas for other cooperative adventures entirely. All are worth your time in 2026.
Quick Comparison: Top 5 Picks
| # | Game | Style | Price | Platforms |
| 1 | Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag | Pirate open world | $19.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 2 | Skull and Bones | Naval combat sandbox | $39.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 3 | Raft | Co-op ocean survival | $19.99 | PC |
| 4 | ATLAS | Pirate survival sandbox | $29.99 | PC |
| 5 | Valheim | Co-op survival adventure | $19.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
1. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Why it’s similar
Black Flag is one of the best pirate adventures ever made, sharing Sea of Thieves’ love of ship battles, treasure hunting, and Caribbean exploration.
What makes it unique
Its single-player story follows Edward Kenway through a genuinely great pirate narrative, with naval combat and boarding mechanics that remain some of the best in the genre.
Key features
- Deep naval combat and ship upgrades
- Caribbean open-world exploration
- Strong single-player pirate story
- Treasure hunting and side content
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
2. Skull and Bones
Why it’s similar
Skull and Bones shares Sea of Thieves’ open-world pirate adventure with naval combat, letting you upgrade ships, battle enemies, and explore dangerous waters.
What makes it unique
Its focus leans more heavily into detailed ship customization and PvPvE naval warfare than Sea of Thieves’ broader sandbox activities, with a grittier pirate tone throughout.
Key features
- Deep ship customization
- PvPvE naval combat
- Open-world pirate exploration
- Faction and reputation systems
Price: $39.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
3. Raft
Why it’s similar
Raft shares Sea of Thieves’ cooperative ocean setting, sending you and friends to survive by scavenging resources and slowly building out a floating base.
What makes it unique
The entire game takes place on the water, with hunger, thirst, and shark attacks creating a constant sense of isolation between the story-driven islands you discover.
Key features
- Ocean-based floating base building
- Cooperative resource scavenging
- Shark and hazard survival
- Story-driven island exploration
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
4. ATLAS
Why it’s similar
ATLAS shares Sea of Thieves’ massive pirate survival sandbox, letting you build ships, explore islands, and create your own adventure across a huge shared world.
What makes it unique
Its survival-crafting depth goes far beyond Sea of Thieves, with base building, taming, and a much larger persistent world, though its active population has declined since launch.
Key features
- Massive persistent pirate world
- Ship building and crafting
- Base building and taming
- Large-scale multiplayer server structure
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
5. Valheim
Why it’s similar
Valheim shares Sea of Thieves’ cooperative exploration spirit, letting you and friends build, sail, fight bosses, and progress together across a Norse mythology world.
What makes it unique
Its Viking longship sailing and biome-based boss progression give exploration real structural stakes, with base building on land alongside the seafaring.
Key features
- Co-op survival crafting with exploration
- Boss-based progression through biomes
- Shipbuilding and sea exploration
- Base building with structural integrity
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
6. Blackwake
Why it’s similar
Blackwake shares Sea of Thieves’ naval combat focus, putting multiplayer crews in charge of manning cannons and coordinating full ship-to-ship battles together.
What makes it unique
Its dedicated crew-role system requires genuine teamwork, since players must staff cannons, steer, and repair simultaneously for a ship to function in battle.
Key features
- Multiplayer crew-based naval combat
- Dedicated ship roles
- Age-of-sail cannon battles
- Team coordination focus
Price: $9.99 Platforms: PC
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
7. Subnautica
Why it’s similar
Subnautica shares Sea of Thieves’ oceanic setting and sense of discovery, sending you into unknown waters to explore, scavenge, and upgrade your equipment.
What makes it unique
The entire game unfolds underwater on a single alien ocean planet, with a tense, story-driven descent into the dark that gives exploration real stakes.
Key features
- Underwater alien world exploration
- Crafting and base building beneath the waves
- Tense survival against deep-sea creatures
- Story told through exploration
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
8. No Man’s Sky
Why it’s similar
No Man’s Sky shares Sea of Thieves’ open exploration and discovery-focused adventure, letting you travel, collect resources, and create your own journey.
What makes it unique
Its scale trades the ocean for an entire simulated galaxy of planets, with base building and multiplayer that keep expanding through years of free updates.
Key features
- Procedurally generated galaxy
- Base building and ship customization
- Ongoing free content updates
- Optional multiplayer exploration
Price: $59.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
9. Deep Rock Galactic
Why it’s similar
Deep Rock Galactic shares Sea of Thieves’ four-player cooperative mission loop, with team roles and objectives creating memorable multiplayer moments.
What makes it unique
Its dwarf-mining theme and fully destructible cave environments create a distinct, tunnel-blasting playstyle set entirely underground rather than at sea.
Key features
- Four-player class-based missions
- Fully destructible cave environments
- Deep upgrade and progression systems
- Strong replayability and teamwork
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
10. Monster Hunter Wilds
Why it’s similar
Monster Hunter Wilds shares Sea of Thieves’ co-op adventure spirit, with team coordination, progression, and exploration built around fighting powerful creatures together.
What makes it unique
Its deep, weighty combat and enormous weapon variety reward careful preparation, built around gear crafted from what you hunt rather than treasure found.
Key features
- Deep, weighty monster-hunting combat
- Enormous weapon type variety
- Gear crafted from hunted monsters
- Cooperative hunts
Price: $69.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
11. Grounded
Why it’s similar
Grounded shares Sea of Thieves’ co-op survival spirit, with crafting and exploration letting you and friends build bases and survive a dangerous world together.
What makes it unique
Its shrunk-down perspective turns an ordinary backyard into a sprawling survival world, trading the open ocean for blades of grass and insect predators.
Key features
- Tiny-scale survival perspective
- Co-op crafting and base building
- Insect and creature encounters
- Backyard exploration setting
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Green Man Gaming and Steam.
12. Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Why it’s similar
Sid Meier’s Pirates! shares Sea of Thieves’ pirate life fantasy, with trading, sailing, battles, and building your reputation across the Caribbean.
What makes it unique
It is a classic pirate life simulator predating Sea of Thieves by decades, with a strategic, career-driven structure focused on building an empire rather than moment-to-moment sandbox play.
Key features
- Classic pirate life simulation
- Trading and naval combat
- Career and reputation building
- Strategic Caribbean exploration
Price: $9.99 Platforms: PC
Where to Buy
Available on Steam and GOG.
13. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Why it’s similar
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire shares Sea of Thieves’ pirate-themed adventure, with ship travel, crew management, and exploration carrying its fantasy story.
What makes it unique
Its deep RPG systems and party-based tactical combat give the pirate fantasy a completely different structure, wrapped around a rich, choice-driven narrative.
Key features
- Pirate-themed RPG adventure
- Ship travel and crew management
- Deep tactical party combat
- Rich, choice-driven story
Price: $44.99 Platforms: PC
Where to Buy
Available on Steam and GOG.
14. King of Seas
Why it’s similar
King of Seas shares Sea of Thieves’ naval exploration and treasure hunting, with ship upgrades and battles carrying a pirate action RPG adventure.
What makes it unique
Its procedurally generated world and RPG progression systems give each playthrough distinct treasure hunts and naval encounters to chase.
Key features
- Procedurally generated pirate world
- Ship upgrade and customization
- RPG-style progression
- Naval combat and treasure hunting
Price: $19.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
15. Grand Theft Auto V
Why it’s similar
GTA V shares Sea of Thieves’ open-ended sandbox spirit, giving you and friends a huge world to explore, cause chaos in, and create your own stories together.
What makes it unique
Its modern crime setting and massive online mode give the sandbox formula a completely different flavor, with heists and freeform activities replacing pirate treasure hunts.
Key features
- Massive open-world sandbox
- Cooperative and competitive online modes
- Huge amount of side activities
- Satirical, over-the-top tone
Price: $29.99 Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Where to Buy
Available on Steam.
Full Comparison Table
| # | Game | Style | Price | Platforms |
| 1 | Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag | Pirate open world | $19.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 2 | Skull and Bones | Naval combat sandbox | $39.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 3 | Raft | Co-op ocean survival | $19.99 | PC |
| 4 | ATLAS | Pirate survival sandbox | $29.99 | PC |
| 5 | Valheim | Co-op survival adventure | $19.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 6 | Blackwake | Naval combat multiplayer | $9.99 | PC |
| 7 | Subnautica | Underwater survival | $29.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch |
| 8 | No Man’s Sky | Space exploration | $59.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch |
| 9 | Deep Rock Galactic | Co-op mining shooter | $29.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 10 | Monster Hunter Wilds | Monster hunting | $69.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 11 | Grounded | Co-op survival crafting | $29.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
| 12 | Sid Meier’s Pirates! | Classic pirate sim | $9.99 | PC |
| 13 | Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire | Pirate RPG | $44.99 | PC |
| 14 | King of Seas | Pirate action RPG | $19.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch |
| 15 | Grand Theft Auto V | Open-world sandbox | $29.99 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox |
Conclusion
If it was the pirate fantasy that hooked you, start with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Skull and Bones, and Sid Meier’s Pirates! They share Sea of Thieves’ exact love of ships, treasure, and the open sea.
If the co-op survival and teamwork mattered most, Raft, ATLAS, and Valheim deliver that same cooperative sandbox spirit. And if you want naval combat with a sharper focus, Blackwake and King of Seas bring their own takes on ship-to-ship battles. Any of these 15 will keep your crew sailing well into 2026.
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