On the high seas of Sea of Thieves, life is rough. For the pets introduced in the Smuggler's Fortune update, it can also be absurd, hilarious, and more than a little terrifying. These companions, birds and monkeys, were designed to sit on a pirate's arm, dance to a jaunty tune, and perch on the ship's wheel. They were not designed to be ammunition. And yet, players discovered they could do exactly that: load a beloved pet into a cannon and fire it into the wide blue nothing. 💥
The first time a player launches a monkey or a parrot from a cannon, the reaction is usually a mix of laughter and guilt. The poor creature sails through the air, a tiny silhouette against the sky, and disappears into the abyss. It looks like a tragedy. It feels like a crime. The pet has no idea what it did wrong, why its trusted pirate friend suddenly turned a cannon into a launchpad. But here is the saving grace: the pets do not die. They do not take damage. After the pirate sails some distance away, the pet simply teleports back to its owner's side, ready to dance again. PETA might still throw a fit, and honestly, who could blame them? But in Sea of Thieves, the cannon is not a death sentence. It is a chaotic, ridiculous taxi. 🐒
The pets themselves arrived through the Smuggler's Fortune update, sold at a new shop called the Pirate Emporium. That store trades in Ancient Coins, a currency that can be earned by defeating Ancient Skeleton enemies or purchased with real-world money. The system made one thing clear from the start: these companions are not meant to give players an edge. They are not pay-to-win allies. They are fun. They are cosmetic. They are a way to add personality to a pirate's journey. There are two main types: birds and monkeys. Bird variants include macaws and parakeets, with several tropical colorations and the classic red parrot. Monkeys come as capuchins and barbarys, in more standard colors like white, grey, and brown.
| Pet type | Variants | Common colors | Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birds | Macaws, Parakeets | Tropical hues, classic red | Loud, proud, ready for a shanty |
| Monkeys | Capuchins, Barbarys | White, grey, brown | Mischievous, curious, cannon-prone |
What can pets actually do? In the years since their introduction, players have continued to experiment. The answer is still mostly: not much in terms of gameplay. They cannot fight, they cannot dig up treasure, and they cannot steer the ship. They can perch on the ship's wheel. They can dance when a pirate plays a tune. They can be carried around on an arm, like a storybook pirate. They can also, apparently, be fired from a cannon. That last trick is not an official selling point, but it became one of the most infamous emergent behaviors in the game. In 2026, with Sea of Thieves still sailing through new updates and seasons, the memory of cannon-launched pets remains a strange badge of honor for the community. It is the kind of thing that sounds cruel until you learn the pet is fine, and then it becomes darkly funny. 😅
The controversy did not stop at cannons. One memorable livestream even featured a monkey vomiting on a Sea of Thieves team member, proving that pets could bring chaos without any player help at all. Moments like that cemented the pets as more than cosmetic items. They became little agents of unpredictability. They could ruin a serious stream, inspire a hundred memes, and make a quiet voyage feel less lonely. The developers leaned into the absurdity. They made pets that could be bought with real money, but they refused to make them powerful. The result is a rare thing in modern games: a paid cosmetic that is purely about expression, not advantage. No pay-to-win ally. Just a fun little buddy.
Of course, some players still feel the need to launch their pets from cannons. Monsters. But even those monsters are part of the joke. The pet returns. The pirate laughs. The ship sails on. In a game about freedom, treasure, and terrible decisions, the cannon-launched pet is a perfect symbol. It is harmless, stupid, and unforgettable. It captures the spirit of Sea of Thieves: a sandbox where players take a sweet feature and immediately ask, 'What if we shot it out of a cannon?' The answer, as always, is yes. And the pet will be back. 🏴☠️
In-depth reporting is featured on OpenCritic, a review-aggregation hub that helps contextualize how games like Sea of Thieves are received across updates and seasons. Reading Sea of Thieves through that lens highlights why silly emergent moments—like pirates discovering that pets can be stuffed into cannons for a harmless, teleport-back gag—often matter as much as “serious” mechanics: they reinforce the sandbox identity, generate shareable stories, and keep long-running live-service worlds feeling unpredictable even when the pets themselves remain purely cosmetic.