A big hole has mysteriously appeared on an uncharted island in Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves
(Image credit: Rare)

Shiver me timbers! A big hole has suddenly and mysteriously appeared on one of Sea of Thieves' uncharted islands. The hole was spotted after the most recent update, Black Powder Stashes, which arrived yesterday—though it appears at the moment to be unrelated to the update's new voyages. It may, however, have something to do next month's update, which is called Dark Relics. Or, perhaps it has something to do with an update even further in the future. At the moment, we just don't know. Mysterious.

The island in question is located on the border of map coordinates I-12 and J-12, unofficially called "Killer Whale Island" due to the wreck of Merrick's ship, The Killer Whale. The island already has some cool features: the shipwreck, an underwater shrine and archway, a cave, and Merrick's amusing journal (located in the crow's nest of the wreck). 

And now, there's a mysterious hole! Perhaps it's not as arresting as Fortnite's wandering cube or giant eyeball, but it's still an intriguing little mystery and makes me wonder if some other map changes have been made to hint at future adventures.

I am helpfully pointing to the hole in this image (Image credit: Rare)

The hole was spotted by Reddit member and pirate Jetamo, and I just jumped into the game to check it out for myself. According to the Reddit thread, the circle of stones around the hole may also have been added in an update prior to the hole—though I can't confirm this. 

There's also a grave on the island near a dead tree that another poster says is new. You can see my picture of the tree and grave below, but again, I can't say for certain it wasn't there prior to the Black Powder Stashes update.

(Image credit: Rare)

As for the hole itself, I performed some half-assed investigation while I was there: I tried digging in the hole but only unearthed some grubs, and I also threw a few buckets of water into it, but nothing exciting happened. Then a galleon sailed over, fired several cannonballs at my sloop, missed, then scuttled itself. The crew swam over and climbed on my ship and stared at me in silence for a while as I asked them what happened and then offered them a ride. Then they attacked me with swords. That's no mystery, that's just business as usual in Sea of Thieves.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

Latest in Action
Assassin's Creed Shadows allies - A close-up of Yaya smiling after joining the League.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows allies and how to unlock them
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Maluca
The First Berserker: Khazan review
An image of Hornet from Silksong engulfed with rage.
Hollow Knight: Silksong gets SteamDB updates, and at this point I can't tell if the end is nigh or if I'm just hope-poisoned
A man with purple hair and face tattoos poses for a mugshot in the GTA 6 trailer.
Playable GTA 6 map nuked without warning by Take-Two lawyers: 'My guess is that the map was probably a little too accurate'
assassin's creed shadows protector's armor
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits 2 million players, putting it on track to be the series' most successful game yet
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash
The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
Latest in News
The Spy from Team Fortress 2 holds up a folder with an accusatory expression.
One of Valve's original executives shares a very simple secret to its success: 'You can't use up your credibility' by trying to make bad games work
The Razer Huntsman Mini 60% gaming keyboard floats in the teal PC Gamer deal void. The per-key RGB lights are on.
The most adorable Razer keyboard features not only an almost half-size form factor, but an almost half-size price at only $70
Inzoi
Ultra-realistic life sim Inzoi has officially shoved Hollow Knight: Silksong and Deadlock out of the way to become Steam's most hotly-anticipated game
New shaders in Minecraft following Minecraft Live 2025
In the year of our lord 2025, Mojang is finally adding shaders to Minecraft, making reflective lighting and water effects more accessible for all
Decorations in TCG Card Shop Simulator
TCG Card Shop Simulator finally adds the ability to decorate our stores, and suddenly all my profits are being spent on adorable Pigni posters
bulky headphones on black made using x rays
'We essentially created a virtual headset': Scientists transmit inaudible sound using ultrasonic beams to create single person 'audio enclaves'