Sea of Thieves is having a "digital treasure hunt" to win an £80,000 bunch of golden bananas
UPDATE: A winner is revealed!
Update, 26/3/18: Rare has announced that its Sea of Thieves-inspired hunt for four golden bananas is now officially over, with the winning crew named as 'Herr Crew' from France. More than 10,000 players apparently signed up to take part, vying for the 18-carat, £80,000 prize.
Once the deadline to solve the 15 competition questions passed, five teams were invited to attempt an “ultimate test” - SwashBuckleys from Australia, Die Germans from Germany, The boys from Canada, and Fun Brigade from the USA. The teams that failed to secure the four golden bananas will each receive engraved golden “doubloons”, valued at £300.
Original story, 11/3/18: Rare is ushering in Sea of Thieves' launch on March 20th with a "digital treasure hunt" to win a bunch of golden bananas valued at £80,000.
The four bananas have been forged by celebrated London goldsmiths Smith & Harris, the duo responsible for the so-called Kate Moss Siren. And if you're unfamiliar with the Kate Moss Siren, be aware that it mightn't be something you want to Google while in polite company.
For those that haven't been following Sea of Thieves' development, the banana theme isn't quite as random as it might first appear; in-game, bananas are currently the only item that can restore health, so have a kind of skewed prominence during your swashbuckling escapades.
To be in with a chance of winning the golden bananas - unveiled in suitably dramatic fashion in the video above - you'll need to gather together the answers to 15 cryptic clues, with the first being revealed 8am GMT on Monday, March 19th, via the competition website. The remaining clues will be revealed every three to four hours over the following three days.
Once all the clues have been revealed, participants from eligible countries (that's the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, and Canada) will need to enter their answers into the 15 blank spaces found in something called The Passage. You'll only have seven hours do this once the entry form becomes available from 9pm GMT on Wednesday, March 21st.
The first entrants to get all 15 answers correct from each participating country will be called upon to answer one last clue between March 22nd and March 23rd. The winner will then secure the shiny phallic fruit of their wildest dreams. The runners-up, meanwhile, will receive limited edition Sea of Thieves engraved golden "doubloons" valued at over £300 each.