Monkey Island creator had no idea Sea of Thieves crossover was happening
UPDATE: Terrible Toybox says Disney gave Gilbert "heads-up on the project as a courtesy".
UPDATE 12/06/2023: Developer Terrible Toybox has contacted Eurogamer to address Ron Gilbert's earlier statements regarding the Monkey Island and Sea of Thieves crossover.
"Disney did give him a heads-up on the project as a courtesy, but the game was well into development at that point and he wasn't given the opportunity to be meaningfully involved," Terrible Toybox's PR told Eurogamer.
"[Gilbert] cares deeply about Monkey Island and wishes the team at Rare well with the project."The original story continues below.
ORIGINAL 12/06/23: Ron Gilbert, the original creator of the piratical point-and-click Monkey Island series, had no idea its newly-revealed Sea of Thieves crossover was happening.
Last night, Sea of Thieves: The Legend of Monkey Island - as this crossover is officially known - was announced to much surprise and delight from several members of the Eurogamer team (myself included).
The news also came as a surprise to Gilbert, however, who revealed "he wasn't even told about it".
Replying to a Monkey Island fan over on Mastodon, Gilbert shared that not only is he not involved with this Sea of Thieves crossover in any way, but it all happened "behind [his] back". Replying to another user, Gilbert stated "it was all done without [his] knowledge or input."
This led to surprise from Monkey Island fans, who voiced their frustration at the news.
"Grr. That's disappointing. Sorry," replied one user, while another added that this news had "saddened" them.
Gilbert, along with fellow Monkey Island co-creator Dave Grossman, returned to the shores of Melee last year, with the aptly named Return to Monkey Island after years of separation from the series. The developers have not ruled out future Monkey Island games, but when I spoke to them about the series last year, they would not commit to being involved personally.
As for this Sea of Thieves crossover, the whole adventure - which can either be played solo or in a crew - will unfold across three free episodes, one new instalment landing every month starting on 20th July. Delightfully, Dominic Armato has also confirmed he is returning as Guybrush Threepwood for this crossover.
"Solve puzzles, tussle with adversaries and tackle unexpected trials as you strive to put right situations that have gone bizarrely wrong and confront a looming peril born of powers from both worlds," Rare teased when annoucing this crossover.
Meanwhile, the whole thing will take place in the Sea of the Damned, meaning players won't have to face interruptions from other crews.