Event kicks off March 19.
In anticipation for the launch of Sea of Thieves, Microsoft is holding a global digital treasure hunt called The Quest, where participants have a chance to win one of four real UK Hallmarked 18-carat golden bananas.
As revealed during the debut episode of Microsoft’s new monthly streaming show Inside Xbox, London goldsmith Smith & Harris has crafted four golden bananas, each valued at £20,000 and modeled after the health item in Sea of Thieves.
The Quest will begin on Monday, March 19 at 12:00am PT/3:00am ET/7:00am UK/6:00pm AET with the release of a riddle. There are a total of 15 riddles to solve, and on Wednesday, March 21 at 1:00pm PT/4:00pm ET/8:00pm UK (Thursday, March 22 at 7:00am AET) participants will have seven hours to submit their answers to the riddles.
Riddles will be scattered online and across various real-world locations, including London, UK; Key West, Florida; Sydney, Australia; Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; and Victoria, Canada. The clues can be found digitally as well.
The first team from each eligible country (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and Australia) to answer the riddles correctly will then move onto the semi-finals and answer one final riddle on March 22.
To participate in The Quest, you can register your crew right here.
Sea of Thieves launches for Xbox One and PC on March 20. For more on Rare’s upcoming pirate adventure, our detailed overview of Sea of Thieves.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn.