The first treasure dug up in Sea of Thieves shows how far the game has come

What you need to know

• Sea of Thieves just celebrated its three-year anniversary.
• The game also surpassed 20 million unique players.
• Members of Rare are sharing fun stories and behind-the-scenes looks into development.

To celebrate the third anniversary of Sea of Thieves, members of Rare have taken to social media to share fond memories and some inside looks into the earliest days of development. A particularly special post from lead designer Andrew Preston commemorates the past three years of sailing and the huge 20-million player milestone with a rather hilarious and touching recording of the first ever treasure dug up in Sea of Thieves.

This is such a beautiful peek behind the curtain into the not-so-pretty world of early game prototyping. It's almost hard to believe that these Veggie Tales-esque character models would end up becoming the gorgeous, memorable ones we know today. Hearing the cries of excitement from the team as their grand ideas for unique gameplay mechanics started coming together is absolutely heartwarming.

When Rare began discussing ideas and ambitions for Sea of Thieves, its goal was always to create the ultimate pirate sandbox experience. The mantra of development was "tools, not rules," emphasising the game's focus on player freedom. While the initial launch largely delivered on the team's objectives, it was definitely a bit light on the content side, leacing players hungry for much more. However, looking at how far this game has come and what the current experience offers, I can confidently say there has never been a better time to play Sea of Thieves.