Right now, everyone is watching Microsoft and Xbox with bated breath to see just how severe the reported layoffs will be, and while we wait for that inevitable announcement, Xbox is seemingly doing everything possible to distract from it. Like how Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and other high-ranking Xbox executives spoke to Entertainment Weekly in a new interview, which confirms that a Sea of Thieves movie adaptation is in the works, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton attached to it as a producer.
That nugget of information came as part of a larger interview about the ongoing "reset" at Xbox that Sharma spoke of in her letter to staff that went out shortly after Bloomberg's initial report on the coming layoffs.
The confirmation of the Sea of Thieves adaptation is the latest Xbox-owned property to get the adaptation treatment, joining the likes of Fallout, A Minecraft Movie, the now-cancelled Halo TV series, and more upcoming projects like the recently announced Call of Duty film and Wolfenstein TV series.
There's also an upcoming Gears of War film, which was previously announced, that is still on the way. This new Sea of Thieves adaptation is the latest push in Xbox's attempt to become not just the biggest video games publisher, but the number one home for entertainment, according to the interview.
"The next generation, their no.1 form of entertainment is play," Sharma said. "It's not about what we say, it is about what the world does, and they're deciding that gaming is one of the most important forms of entertainment today - and the next generation is saying it is the most important form of entertainment. So we will continue to meet players where they are."
It'll be interesting to see where Xbox takes this Sea of Thieves film, since it's a multiplayer game with no core plot focus. The fact that it is coming though also secures that Xbox considers Sea of Thieves to be one of its core franchises along the same lines of Halo and Gears.
Maybe that means Rare won't be as impacted by layoffs as other studios, though we'll have to wait a little longer to see how bad things are. Microsoft's fiscal year ends on June 30, so we can expect more official news as we get closer to that date.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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