Content Creators Depart Sea of Thieves Amid Serious Misconduct Allegations Fallout

Nearly a dozen content creators from the Sea of Thieves Partner Program have announced their departure following serious allegations of child sexual abuse against one of the community’s designated “Boatswains.” This title is awarded by Rare to recognize positive contributors within the Sea of Thieves community.

The content creator known as Bruno, or Heslashthem in-game, faced accusations of inappropriate interactions with underage players on Discord and during streams. These allegations were detailed in a Google document titled “The Bruno Files,” which included screenshots of purported Discord conversations.

A recent update to this document by a user named realThatGuyVic on May 12 introduced new claims, featuring alleged screenshots that suggested Bruno solicited explicit images from an anonymous player believed to be underage. Alongside other Sea of Thieves creators, realThatGuyVic has accused Rare’s moderation team on Discord of trying to suppress the controversy by heavily moderating discussions and deleting related messages.

Bruno appears to have deleted all online accounts, and attempts to reach them for comment were unsuccessful.

A screenshot circulating among players allegedly shows Rare’s senior community manager, j0toro, participating in game sessions with Bruno despite the ongoing allegations. According to a recent post on the r/seaofthieves subreddit, Bruno’s Sea of Thieves account has been banned, and their Discord account has been removed from the official server.

Some community members are urging Rare and Microsoft to publicly address the situation. The company has not yet responded to requests for comment, but Rare’s community managers did acknowledge the “reports” in a post on the Sea of Thieves Discord server.

After careful consideration, I’ve decided to step down from the Sea of Thieves Partner Program. I love Sea of Thieves and am grateful for the opportunities, friendships, and memories it has provided. However, the recent news surrounding someone who was elevated and…

“Hi all, we need to keep this server compliant with our rules – so while our predominantly EU-based team takes some time to rest, we are slowing this server right down,” the post stated. “However, I want to be clear: we are investigating and escalating all reports with the appropriate urgency. As always, we cannot comment on individual reports or incidents publicly.”

In the past three days, several prominent members of the Sea of Thieves Partner Program have stepped down due to the allegations against Bruno and concerns about Rare’s handling of the situation. This includes creators like Phuzzy, HitboTC, Ozurian, TotallyFluxxx, NessieDoes, AShinyRayquaza, and Captain Falcore.

“Hello Sea of Thieves, I’d like to request the removal of my name from the game website, as well as the removal of the Hat of Unfeasibly Glorious Fame from my in-game account,” Ozurian posted on X on May 13. “I no longer wish to be associated with the brand after the recent events. The attitudes of the community management team have affected my perception of the game and Rare, the company behind its development. I kindly request that the higher-ups contact the authorities to handle the situation and properly address the community with a statement.”