Sea Of Thieves Game Pass Error Renders It Unplayable [UPDATE: FIXED]

[UPDATE] The Sea of Thieves Game Pass issue has now been resolved, developer Rare announced on Twitter. If you still encounter an issue, Rare advises that you try again.

The original story is below.

Microsoft's Netflix-style subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, has been available for some time now, but it took on new value when the company announced plans to launch its first-party exclusives on day one through the service. That started with last week's release of Sea of Thieves, but due to a new problem that has popped up, the game isn't currently playable for Game Pass members.

As long as you have a Game Pass subscription, you can ordinarily play Sea of Thieves on Xbox One or PC in its entirety just like anyone who owns a digital copy of the game. However, players opening the game right now are presented with the same type of message you see when trying to play something you don't own. "Do you own this game or app?" the error message asks. "If you have a game disc, insert it now. If you bought this online, make sure you're signed in to Xbox Live. If you don't have rights for playing it, you'll need to get it at the Microsoft Store." This also presents you with the 0x803f8001 error code, which directs you to a support page for this otherwise standard problem.

The issue is currently specific to Sea of Thieves; the Xbox Live status page confirms that Game Pass access to the title isn't working correctly right now. That page has an unusually terse message stating that the issue is being worked on, and the official Sea of Thieves Twitter account also states as much: "Our team are currently investigating an issue affecting Game Pass players and are working to resolve it as soon as possible. We'll update you as soon as we can."

We don't know how long the issue will persist or if it's related to the new Sea of Thieves update that was just released. Regardless, it means that Game Pass members are unable to play the game right now. We'll report back as more details are shared. In the meantime, check out our Sea of Thieves review.