Sea of Thieves' Hungering Deep update is a limited time, shark-shaped bunch of NOPE

Sea of Thieves' first major post-launch content update, titled "The Hungering Deep," is now live on PC and Xbox One, and would-be pirates should dive in before the limited-time event is over. As for me, I'll be sitting pretty on dry land, thank you very much. Why? This is why:

Yup, that's a shark bigger than your average galleon, about to enjoy a tasty bite of pirate-flavored snacks. And you thought the kraken was intimidating - hell, at least fighting the kraken you have a ship under your feet. Here you're just floating helplessly in the vast, open ocean when a beast larger than your mind can comprehend swims out of the abyss and nooooope nope nope nope.

Despite the screenshots showing what is clearly a giant shark (and therefore probably the Sea of Thieves version of a megalodon), the dev team has been playing coy and merely refers to the beast as an "AI threat." Here's what they have to say in the latest dev video:

Luckily, a nasty like this isn't the only content that players will get to experience as part of The Hungering Deep. There's also a new quest courtesy of the double-peg-legged "Merry" Merrick, items for your ship including a new figurehead, sail, hull, and flag, new clothing sets, and new color variants for existing cosmetics. There's even a sweet new style of tattoo you can adorn your disgusting, scurvy-laden body with. (You are a pirate, after all.)

The Hungering Deep will last for two weeks, so if you want in on the goods - some of which will be unavailable to obtain once the event is over - be sure to round up yer crew and set sail straight away. Need some help to get in shark-fighting shape? Be sure to check out our collection of Sea of Thieves tips. Yarr!

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Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.