Season 13’s Style of Thieves Theme Reveal!

Season 13 has sure been a hot one, and not just because it ran over actual real-world summer. In game, the Burning Blade and its huge fireballs burst onto the seas, offering a brand new type of World Event and spreading heat-tinged combat in its wake. Elsewhere, the heat continued with Production Director Drew delivering information often referred to as containing some level of spice, with a change to the blunderbuss being considered high on the Scoville charts.

It's time to bring the heat down a few notches, however, as we clear through the final notes of the Season’s to-do list. Nope, we’re not here to reveal the Season 14 date or accidentally post the next SoT News early, those are a few points below this. We’re in fact here to let you know that the next #StyleOfThieves contest will be taking place from September 30th–October 3rd, and we’ll even reveal the themes while we’re here. Surprise! For anyone reading this who somehow missed the headline…

Yes, #StyleOfThieves, working the same way it has for a fair few contests now; we’ll create a unique post on each of those days, Sept 30th–Oct 3rd, announcing that a theme is open to enter. You lovely lot then take to posting your screenshots of your pirates all dressed up to the thematically appropriate nines, including the name of the theme you’re entering and any other relevant information. Scroll down and read the How to Enter section for a rundown of the full rules, as well as some handy pointers.

As the final seconds of a theme’s 24-hour entry period tick into the history of humanity, our courageous crew will begin their crawl through the increasing suite of digital catwalks and pick out the pirates they feel donned the most appropriate attire. That list is then encrypted through at least three unique ciphers before being planted by dead drop inside the final clue of an undisclosed escape room somewhere in the Midlands.

A member of our Art team will then receive a surprise invitation to said location and, assuming they can effectively solve the room with zero assistance, they will get to have the final decision on the pirates who win this Season’s Style of Thieves prizes! Once they solve the ciphers, that is. If they don’t… well, we’ll cross that bridge should it present itself, but really you can’t be overly careful with these things.

There will be three winning entries per category, meaning 12 winners total, but as one category calls for two participants to be pictured, there are up to 15 pairs of Fashionista’s Finery Gloves up for grabs this time. Winning pirates will be announced via Sea of Thieves social channels on October 10th, a week after the final theme takes place. And as always, a necessary reminder that even if you don’t win Style of Thieves, as with all of our social media contests, it’s intended to be about the fun of taking part first and foremost. So go and explore your pirate’s customisation chests – you may find a new style you really like!

And now, without any more repeated preamble, here are Season 13’s #StyleOfThieves themes:

The Themes

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

Gothic
Embrace darker tones and demonic dress as you style a scoundrel fit for performing rituals, reading morbid poetry and playing your favourite shanty in a minor key.
Entry date: September 30th

Couples Costumes
Combine forces with another pirate to concoct co-ordinated clothing replicating an iconic duo, pushing it all the way from superheroes and sidekicks to salt and pepper (the seasoning).
Entry date: October 1st

Academic
From teacher to student, find a fit for your marauder that suggests they’re in the mood to learn. Or at least to carry around a heavy stack of books, regardless of their ability to read.
Entry date: October 2nd

Cosy
With the weather in the real world getting colder, we want to see how your pirates would stay snug against the chill, in a world where they don’t just set their ship on fire.
Entry date: October 3rd

How to Enter

Now into the part of the article that’s the same every time, including the sentence you just read. We’ve got eyes everywhere, in a nice ‘enter however you feel comfortable’ kind of way, so you’re free to submit on a variety of social channels. That said, each comes with its own quirks as follows:

• To enter on X/Twitter, make sure you include @SeaOfThieves and #StyleOfThieves in your post.
• For Instagram, you just need to post using #StyleOfThieves. Same goes for Bluesky and Threads (yup, we’re keeping an eye on those channels, too).
• Add your entry as a reply to that day’s theme post on Facebook.
• Post your entry with #StyleOfThieves in the #pirate-fashion channel of our official Discord server.

And regardless of where you’re sharing your entry, 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.

Rules of the Runway

We’ve put together some handy hints and rules to make sure you capture your pirate’s best side and don’t accidentally enter an ineligible picture:

• No Costumes on the catwalk – we want to see your creativity and individuality in how you mix and match items, so no all-in-one Costumes.
• Complete cosmetic sets are not permitted. Our artists designed those items to go together and, again, we want to see stylish creativity. Ideally, an outfit should contain no more than four items from the same named set, but as long as creativity from multiple styles is evident then your outfit will be accepted.
• Unless a theme calls for it, all shots should be solo pirates and not crews. Only the pirate(s) in the picture will be eligible for the prize.
• Find a simple or plain background to pose against to let your outfit pop. Backgrounds and locations will not be considered when judging the outfit.
• Lighting helps, so find a well-lit spot to fully peacock your picks. Coloured or tactical lighting won’t be considered part of the outfit, and could hurt your chances of consideration.
• Toggle off your HUD for a clean snap and avoid a name getting in the way! If you haven’t set it, the Toggle HUD command can be assigned to a button from the HUD category of the Keyboard and Mouse or Controller area of your Settings menu.
• Screenshots should be a reflection of the game – no external editing or filters should be applied.
• Please try to keep your submissions to a 16:9 or 1:1 ratio, making sure your entire outfit is in shot, including your shoes/toes! This will help us when framing winners, and ensures a degree of parity when comparing submissions.
• While you may use any emotes for your shot, any features added to the outfit via the emote (e.g. oars, weapons, sparklers) won’t be taken into consideration as part of an outfit during judging.
• One shortlist will be compiled per theme, using entries across all platforms, meaning it’s not necessary to post your submission to all channels. If you make sure you use the correct tags, we will see it!
• The unique prize means you can’t win more than once in Style of Thieves, but you’re more than welcome to continue entering for the fun of it!

Right, another #StyleOfThieves announce article done and dusted, and a big hello to anyone reading this far (you’re a real one). Good luck coming up with your costumes, we’re looking forward to observing your efforts as they fill our social media channels from September 30th–October 3rd!