Live-service games can have difficult journeys on the way to popularity. If developers can't nail down the concept and the hook early enough, it risks losing players as they flock to other similar titles that have had more successful launches. However, it's the nature of live-service games that they constantly adapt, update, and progress through post-launch life cycles, and if players can invest in them, then the payoff can be worth it. This was the case for Rare's pirate action-adventure game Sea of Thieves. Although the open-world online game didn't have the most auspicious of starts, Sea of Thieves grew to become one of Xbox’s most popular live-service games.