
We've documented 28 accessibility features for Sea of Thieves, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Text, No Repeated Pressing, No Holds and Remap Buttons. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Communication, Reading, Getting Started, Navigation and Audio to reduce unintended barriers.
This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.
Release Date: 20/03/2018, updated in 2023
Out Now: PC, Xbox One and Xbox X|S
Content Rating: PEGI 12
Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds
Players: 1 (24 online)
Genres: Role-Play, Traversal (Action, Adventure, Collecting, Communication, Fighting, Simulation and Stealth)
Accessibility: 28 features
Components: 3D First-Person, Day and Night, Open World, Persistant World and Weather
Developer: Rare Ltd (@RareLtd)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
To complete the main campaign of the game you need to use a minimum of:
On Boat | Xbox | PC | Notes | Required |
Climb Ladder / Tree | X Button | F Key | When at Ladder. | ✔ |
Map | X Button | F Key | When at Map table on boat. | ✔ |
Map Scroll | Left Stick + Right Stick | Mouse Movement | Or WASD keys. | ✔ |
Aim / Look / Camera | Right Stick | Mouse Movement | Aim cannon. | ✔ |
Map Zoom | Left Trigger + Right Trigger | Mouse Wheel | Or +/- keys. | ✔ |
Adjust Sails | Left Stick | D Key + A Key + S Key + W Key | Use Mouse+F to select adjustment then WASD keys. | ✕ |
Map Place Marker | Right Trigger | Left Mouse Button | Up to nine markers. | ✕ |
On Land | Xbox | PC | Notes | Required |
Pause / Menu | View Button | Escape | ✔ | |
Interact | X Button | F Key + R Key | F key is contextual with multiple uses. | ✔ |
Select Weapon / Ammo | Y Button | Mouse Wheel | Picks between weapons you have equipped via Armoury box on your ship / outposts. | ✔ |
Jump / Vault | A Button | Spacebar | ✔ | |
Drop Item | B Button | X Key | If carrying non-inventory item. | ✔ |
Item to Inventory | B Button | X Key | If carrying inventory item. | ✔ |
Sprint | Left Stick Press | Shift (Left) Key | Can be Toggle/Hold. | ✔ |
Select Item | Left Bumper | Q Key | ✔ | |
Movement | Left Stick | WASD Keys | Auto Move lets you toggle forward movement. | ✔ |
Aim / Look / Camera | Right Stick | Mouse Movement | ✔ | |
Hit / Melee | Right Trigger | Left Mouse Button | With Sword equipped. | ✔ |
Fire | Right Trigger | Left Mouse Button | With Gun equipped. | ✔ |
Chat (Text) | D-Pad Up | G Key | ✕ | |
Emote | D-Pad Down | Z Key | ✕ | |
Movement Stealth | Left Stick | Ctrl (Left) Key | ✕ | |
Aim Down Sights / Scope | Left Trigger | Right Mouse Button | With Gun equipped. | ✕ |
Block | Left Trigger | Right Mouse Button | With Sword equipped. | ✕ |
If you want to play games like Sea of Thieves, but with fewer controls required, the following similar game is worth considering:
We've documented 8 accessibility features for Controls in Sea of Thieves which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.Can play with the following:
Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.
Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.
Can play with the following:
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Mouse and Controller: Can play with mouse and controller simultaneously.
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.
Remap One Action to Multiple Buttons: Can remap multiple buttons to perform the same action to reduce the need to memorise buttons and make the action easier to access.
Specific button operation required to play
Holding Down Buttons Optional: Holding down buttons for prolonged periods (a second or more) is not required or can be switched to toggling the action on and off. This is in addition to the movement stick/button which is not considered a hold for this purpose.
Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.
If you want to play Sea of Thieves, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Sea of Thieves which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play. The following games are similar to Sea of Thieves, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Getting Started in Sea of Thieves which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.
These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.
Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.
View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.
If you want to play Sea of Thieves, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Sea of Thieves which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.
How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.
Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.
Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters.
High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.
All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.
All Dialogue is Voice Acted (Or No Speech In Game): All of the game dialogue and narrative can be voiced, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to read the dialogue and narrative text to play the game.
If you want to play Sea of Thieves, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Sea of Thieves which deals with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.
Head-Up Display Narrated: Key information displayed via text or icons is narrated. This enables the player to know their health, weapons, ammunition and other items without reading the head-up display.
If you want to play Sea of Thieves, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Visual in Sea of Thieves which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.
Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.
Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.
Audio Depiction of Event Location: Indication with positional/stereo audio of where directional events are on the screen for things like damage, footsteps, environmental elements. This is useful for blind players.
This is the audible narration of in-game text. Sometimes talk about as Text To Speech, although it may include the narration of no-textual elements. This is different to Text To Voice, which provides player-player textual communication audibly.
Head-Up Display Narrated: Key information displayed via text or icons is narrated. This enables the player to know their health, weapons, ammunition and other items without reading the head-up display.
Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Sea of Thieves which deals with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.
Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.
If you want to play Sea of Thieves, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Communication in Sea of Thieves which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction.
This is how players communicate with each other in online games. This can be to plan strategy, chat as they play or co-ordinate resources.
No Online Chat (Or Preset Phrases Only): Game is played online but no verbal or textual player communication. This includes games that offer no communication or communication with word-less icons, sounds or preset phrases.
Text Chat: Chat to other players by typing text.
Voice Chat: Chat to other players on your team or friends list by speaking with headset.
Proximity Chat: Chat to other players who are near you in the game, whether or not they are friends or on your team, by speaking with headset.
Text-to-speech: Convert text messages from other players to voiced messages. Game converts text typed by the player into synthesized audio that's read aloud to all other players in the voice channel. This feature allows players who can't speak verbally to have their thoughts expressed aloud to the rest of the players in their party.
Speech-to-text: Convert voice from other players to text messages. Transcribes incoming speech from other players into text onscreen in real time. Players who can't hear voice chat can read what other players have said aloud on their screen.
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.
Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson, @daisyalesounds and Ben Kendall