Sword of the Sea Spotted on Xbox Series X|S: Matt Nava's Acclaimed Adventure Briefly Appears on the Microsoft Store Before Removal
Fans of meditative journeys and poetic flow on Microsoft's consoles can get ready to wax their boards. More than a year after captivating PlayStation 5 and PC players, Sword of the Sea is preparing to cross into new waters: an official store page for Giant Squid's acclaimed adventure accidentally went live on the Microsoft Store for Xbox Series X|S over the weekend before being swiftly pulled down.
A Premature Xbox Store Listing and an October 29 Release Clue
Eagle-eyed community members on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, quickly echoed by social media trackers Idle Sloth and Knoebel, captured screenshots of the official Sword of the Sea product listing on the Xbox Store before Microsoft and the Santa Monica studio disabled public access. Anyone searching for the direct store page right now is greeted by the platform's fittingly nautical error message: "Double check your map, Captain."
Before the page vanished, several key details surfaced from the store's backend data. Most notably, the listing pointed to a tentative release date of Thursday, October 29, 2026, hinting at a potential shadow drop or imminent launch right alongside the nearly 50 new Xbox games arriving this week. Additionally, the Xbox Store metadata listed Fictions as the publisher for the Xbox Series X|S version alongside developer Giant Squid, whereas the studio had self-published the title during its original debut.
The Luminous Legacy of Matt Nava and Austin Wintory
Originally released on August 19, 2025 for PS5 (where it launched day one into the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium Game Catalog) and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, Sword of the Sea stood out as one of last year's most celebrated artistic achievements, earning an 88/100 average on Metacritic and an 87/100 on OpenCritic. The project is helmed by creative director Matt Nava, the visionary art director behind Flower and Journey at thatgamecompany who later founded Giant Squid to craft ABZÛ (2016) and The Pathless (2020).
In this wordless odyssey, players step into the role of the Wraith, resurrected inside a desolate Necropolis buried beneath shifting sands. Riding the ancient Hoversword, a levitating blade that blends the kinetic momentum of a snowboard, skateboard, and surfboard, you carve across golden dunes, glacial peaks, and sunken ruins. The goal is as pure as it is exhilarating: restore a lost ocean beneath the desert and watch glowing shoals of fish, giant sea turtles, and towering leviathans reclaim the world, accompanied by a breathtaking orchestral score from Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory.
Could an Xbox Game Pass Drop and Physical Edition Follow?
With the one-year PlayStation 5 console exclusivity window now behind it, the door is wide open for Xbox Series X|S players to dive in. Many within the community are already hoping this port will also land directly in Xbox Game Pass, mirroring the game's day-one PlayStation Plus rollout last summer.
For physical media collectors who treasure Matt Nava's past works on their shelves, the arrival of another Giant Squid title on Microsoft hardware is also a reminder of how well the studio's boxed releases hold their value. According to current market data for ABZÛ on Xbox One, a Complete in Box (CIB) copy trades around $19.01 while factory-sealed New copies average $25.00, with PlayStation 4 physical editions tracking closely at $19.99 CIB and $22.62 sealed.
My Perspective
I am so thrilled that Xbox players are finally about to experience this gem! When I played Sword of the Sea last summer, I was completely swept away from the very first ride. The moment you build speed on the Hoversword and Austin Wintory's cellos swell just as a wave of turquoise water bursts across the desert floor beneath your feet, you get that unmistakable goosebump moment that only classics like Journey and ABZÛ can deliver. It is a focused, radiant adventure where every leap off the back of a giant manta ray feels like pure freedom. I fell in love with its rhythm instantly, and I could not be happier that this magical few hours of flow is opening up to a whole new community!
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
