The final summer bank holiday in the UK has just passed by, which surely means that September has begun and, more importantly, you’re owed a new list of everything that’s going to be happening in the coming month. September’s schedule is loaded with Live Events and rewards to earn, so hold on tight and let’s work our way through it!

Season 21 Style of Thieves – Monday, August 31st – Thursday, September 3rd

We started the month already in the midst of a competition, specifically a Seasonal staple to determine precisely which pirates are the best dressed – according to a demanding series of categories, at least. Pirates from across the waves shared their best Elemental, Super Villain, Animal and Castaway looks in the hopes of being one of the lucky few to earn themselves the coveted Fashionista’s Finery Gloves and bragging rights amongst their crew. Follow Sea of Thieves’ social channels for winner announcements soon!

Renown Rally – Friday, September 4th – Monday, September 7th

Season 20 isn’t quite over yet but its end approaches, along with the last chance to unlock all the Seasonal rewards it has to offer. If you’re still chasing after the Season 20 Star Prize – or any of the other rewards along the way – then you might want to set sail over the weekend, when you’ll find yourself earning twice as much Renown on your adventures!

Fight Nights – Every Tuesday

Faction fighting continues throughout September, with Tuesdays dedicated to rewarding increased Allegiance for battles fought using your Hourglass of Fate. The boost will run from 10am UTC on Tuesday all the way to the same time the following day, giving you a full 24 hours to prove your might on the waves.

Emissaries of Fortune – Every Wednesday

Immediately after the close of Fight Nights, the Trading Companies demand your attention once again as Emissaries of Fortune kicks off. Like Fight Nights, Emissaries of Fortune is a weekly, 24-hour-long sprint to earn boosted rewards while flying an Emissary Flag for your chosen Company. If you’ve got an eye on your next promotion, or you just want to end the day with an enormous stack of gold, Wednesdays are the ideal time to set sail.

‘Weatherbound’ Release – Friday, September 11th

With Season 21 on the docket for this month’s update, the Sea of Thieves Audio team have been hard at work producing a fresh track to accompany the new title screen! You’ll be able to listen to the results of their labour from September 11th, on whichever music streaming platform you enjoy.

Bilge Rats Weekender – Friday, September 11th – Monday, September 14th

Back to the Live Events calendar, and the next Bilge Rats Weekender is only a short while away.  In this latest opportunity to earn yourself some Doubloons, A Smugglers’ Doubloon Run and Recovery of a Secret Shipment will be returning to the Special Voyages tab of your Quest Table, while daring corsairs are challenged to head into the scorching Devil’s Roar region in search of Ashen Message in a Bottle Voyages. Complete three such singed scrolls, and you’ll sail away with a bounty of 300 Doubloons ready to spend with Larinna and Duke.

As an extra incentive to risk the wrath of the Roar, the Trading Companies have kindly agreed to offer increased gold and reputation for any Ashen loot that manages to make it to their representatives intact during the Event. That’s worth at least a few scorched fingers, don’t you think?

Sea of Thieves Season 21 – Thursday, September 17th

A new Season is about to begin! From September 17th, all players can venture out into Season 21, which focuses squarely on a calendar of recurring Live Events (many of which are called out above) while making ongoing improvements to the free Custom Seas toolset.

You can explore a handsome cache of cosmetics too: Outpost shops are ready to up their game with rich new ranges, a free Season Pass comes packed with rewards from the Pirate Emporium aisles (with a brand new Star Prize at level 50), and the Season Pass: Premium Tier unveils the Mutiny’s Mark collection to warn fellow sailors what happens to crews who turn on their Captain. Meanwhile, within the Pirate Emporium itself, a Banshee’s cry has triggered the return of the long-lost Bleakheart Groom…

Talk Like a Pirate Day Celebrations – Thursday, September 17th – Tuesday, September 22nd

Unsurprisingly, this annual occasion landing on September 19th is a real hit among pirate-kind, so a series of rewards focused on putting your voice to good work seems only fitting.

To that end, we’re making it easier than ever to approach other crews for a chat with the new Parley Pennant. A permanent addition to your ship’s Flag Box, this Pennant signifies to nearby crews that you’re in the mood for a chinwag. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee they’ll be interested in chatting back, but in the spirit of Talk Like a Pirate Day, why not see where it leads?

There’s an incentive on offer for giving this new flag a test run before September 22nd: approach three other ships with the Parley Pennant raised during that window and you can unlock the themed Parley Proficiency Sails, to keep as a mark of your commitment to conversation!

Additional Talk Like a Pirate Day Rewards – Thursday, September 17th – Saturday, October 31st

Jumping out of game for a moment, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be delighted to hear that a new In-Game Benefit is on the horizon, in the form of the Vociferous Speaking Trumpet. Grab it before October 31st so you can show off both your shiny new prize and your best pirate voice to absolutely everyone you meet.

Players with Microsoft Rewards points to spend may also be interested in a selection of Ancient Coin bundles updated to mark the occasion. Alongside the – you guessed it – Ancient Coins included, these bundles will now also deliver the Loquacious Figurehead as a bonus.

And, finally, new Sweepstake inbound: players in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Germany and Netherlands will be able to enter in ways including use of their Microsoft Rewards points or downloading new Sea of Thieves themed backgrounds for a chance to win a Golden Legends Xbox Series X and controller, as well as a year of Xbox Game Pass Premium. Keep your eyes on our social channels later this month for more information on how to enter.

Talk Like a Pirate Day Emporium Sale – Friday, September 18th – Monday, September 21st

If you do end up grabbing one of those Ancient Coin bundles or you just have some going spare, make sure you stop by the Pirate Emporium following Season 21’s debut to browse the latest sale. The shopkeepers are all set to slash prices on a range of Captaincy items, avian pets and emotes by up to 30%, so it’s a fine time to pick up some stylish cosmetics and shake up your loadout.

Twitch Drops – Friday, September 18th – Wednesday, September 23rd

As always, new Twitch Drops are scheduled to follow in the wake of an update, and watching any participating streamer in the Sea of Thieves category on Twitch will earn you the rewards on offer (provided you’ve linked[www.seaofthieves.com] your Sea of Thieves and Twitch accounts).

For September, there’s the usual gold and Renown for pirates who want to get a jumpstart on their new Season Pass, then the Drum Show-Off Emote, Lazybeard Title, Twilight Hunter Fishing Rod and Graveyard Gladiator Pistol. Watch for the full six hours and you’ll conclude your haul with the new and exclusive Fishbone Throwing Knives, so you can give all your foes a pointed greeting.

Gold & Glory Weekend – Friday, September 25th – Monday, September 28th

Your calendar may be starting to look a little full by now, but there’s one more thing to add: at the end of the month, you can enjoy increased gold, reputation, Guild Reputation, Renown and Allegiance during a full weekend of Gold & Glory shenanigans. Don’t miss the chance to pad out your coffers or earn your next Company promotion!

Alright, we’ll leave it there, but there’s no shortage of things to get involved in this September and just as many rewards to strive for – by the next time we see you, there’s no telling what your pirate might look like. Until then, follow along with all the latest updates on our social channels, and we’ll be back at the same time next month with news of what’s coming in October. Catch you then!

How are your Custom Seas[www.seaofthieves.com] creations going? Made any fun game modes? We’ve had a good time seeing Sea of Thieves versions of Dodgeball[x.com], admiring some Arena-inspired modes[x.com] and marvelling at the cinematic masterpieces[x.com] you’re producing. However, today we come offering a way to exercise that Free Camera alongside your clothing chest: a new season of #StyleOfThieves!

And what an exciting season of style it is, as it’s the first contest with the colour of the Fashionista’s Finery Gloves fixed. That’s right, as part of our recently announced Creator Crew refresh[www.seaofthieves.com], the blue tone that sometimes conjured images of soapy dishes rather than haute couture has been tweaked so that the prize for this contest now more closely matches the hues of our other social contest rewards, as Pendragon would have wanted. Well, we never heard him say he wanted it, but he is a stylish scoundrel so we expect he’d be most happy with the change.

As mentioned in that Creator Crew article, we’re not changing how #StyleOfThieves runs as part of the overall Creator Crew expansion, but here’s a refresher all the same: posts dedicated to this Season’s themes will appear on Sea of Thieves social media channels around 10am UTC on the dates advertised (August 31st, and September 1st, 2nd and 3rd), and each post signals the 24-hour entry period for that theme has begun.

Your task, if you choose to accept it and have the fashion sense/available cosmetics to respond to it, is to rifle through your Clothing and Vanity Chests to put together an outfit that answers the theme prompts we’ve landed on. Standing out is the hard part: certain themes will have some key cosmetics that a lot of pirates gravitate towards, so you’ll need to find a way to catch the eyes of our crew. Don’t go too crazy with Custom Seas’ Free Camera either – we need to be able to see all the elements of your get-up, from head to toes.

After each theme’s 24-hour window has closed, our Community team will pull together their favourite entries into a tournament grid, at which point they’ll invite a member of the Art team to argue between them based on how they’d fare in a battle to the death. Except by ‘battle’ we mean strutting along a thin walkway, and by ‘death’ we mean likelihood of being chosen for a two-page spread in Pirate Vogue. There will be four winners chosen per category, for a total of 16 across the four themes, and we will aim to announce the glove-gaining pirates on Friday, September 11th.

As these contests draw quite a lot of entries, we feel compelled to reiterate that this should be seen as a fun excuse to enjoy some pirate dress-up first and foremost. Use it as a reason to flex your rarest cosmetics and see your scoundrel in some different gear than usual (you’ll soon be able to save outfits you put together for quick switching, so remember to make a note of anything you really like), and enjoy seeing how the rest of the community has interpreted each theme! You might even spot a cosmetic that really takes your fancy, that you can then try to unlock on your next Voyage.

In short: even if you don’t win in this #StyleOfThieves contest, we hope that everyone who takes part simply has a good time exploring the fun of fashion within Sea of Thieves, and enjoys reminiscing over the cosmetics earned during their adventures so far.

Image credit: NexdealSOT on Twitter/X

With all the necessary words dispensed, let’s get to this Season’s prompts…

Each theme will start at 10am UTC on the dates detailed below, with entries accepted via a variety of social media channels for 24 hours.

The ElementsShun modern science and embrace the classic elements of earth, wind, fire or water as your costuming muse, letting us know the chosen subject in your post.
Entry date: August 31st

Super Villain
Find a fit that inspires fear, suggests control over a large group of disposable minions and strongly implies that the wearer’s schemes will fail just when they think they’re about to get away with it.
Entry date: September 1st

Animal
Embrace your pirate’s inner animal, whether that be a bold lion, a sneaky snake or just a lazy cat (we saw you ignoring your Captain’s calls to raise the sails).
Entry date: September 2nd

Castaway
We’re sure your pirate has plenty of gear that makes them look like a million gold, but we don’t want to see any of it. Present your most bedraggled, beach-bound buccaneer for this celebration of scruffy style.
Entry date: September 3rd

Image credit: captainggr on Bluesky

There are of course rules to follow if you want to create a valid contest entry. For a refresher on these and how to enter via any of the applicable channels, please navigate back to this previous Style of Thieves article[www.seaofthieves.com] – remembering of course that Season 20’s themes are the ones right here in this article, and the link’s just there for those who need the extra details!

We will also reiterate that while using the Free Camera in Custom Seas is fine, note that we still need to be able to clearly see your pirate’s outfit from head to toes, so don’t go over the top with fancy angles. Also note that regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, you should be sure to include the name of the theme you’re entering in your post, along with any extra info called for by the theme itself.

As an additional stipulation to ensure a fair playing field, entries may only use the retail version of Sea of Thieves and not the Insider build, following the lifting of the Insider Programme NDA. If we spot cosmetics yet to appear in the retail build, your entry won’t be eligible.

There, we’re finally in the final paragraph, and there’s not much more to say except to wish you good luck! Get your head in amongst all your clothing items, being careful of the pointy bits obviously, and the superheated parts, and the crab claws… look, just be careful, okay, and we’ll see your entries from August 31st to September 3rd assuming you haven’t done yourself a nuisance while getting dressed. Happy costuming!