During a Behind-Closed-Doors presentation at Gamescom, Sea of Thieves Executive Producer Joe Neate finally spilled the beans on how the previously rather mysterious ghost ship mechanic works.

We learn that the ghost ship is like a social hub for dead people. People coming from completely different part of the game world that never met each other will meet on the ghost ship when they die, and they can have some "awkward conversations" asking each other how they died. They can share these moments together.

At that point they can choose to friend each other, maybe form a crew after reviving, and play together. It's a "cool mechanic but embedded into the lore of the world."

As the heartless pirate looking for the nitty gritty that I am, I asked how long you're going to be stuck on the ship, and the answer was "enough time for meaningful connections."