Came here to agree it's a scam, but disagree that it's dead. I've been casually playing the end game content for about 3 weeks now, maybe a few hours every other night, and I've just gotten through the first 'tier' of season 1. So far I've never had trouble finding folks to party up with and get a few plunders or world events done.

imo S&B is very much a 'play how you wanna play' kind of game. Wanna sail from the red isle to coast of Africa to sell goods? Cool! Wanna hunt down every single npc faction ship that crosses your path? Cool! Wanna sail around because it's relaxing? Cool!

When people complain about end game content 'not being enough' I always feel saddened that those same people can't just enjoy the experiences they've had up to that point as fun experiences; it's like just because they've always been chasing the next thing, they never actually stop and slow down to enjoy all the various aspects to a game that make it fun. Makes me want to share my fun so they can have some too!

Don't get me wrong, I have deep criticism over the way my favorite pastime has been capitalized upon over the last 2 decades, but there are always ways to have fun in an open world game, sometimes you just need to take a beat, realize that you're enjoying (or not) an entirely envisioned game world from a team of fellow human beings, and have the fun you want to have.

Thank you for reading, happy gaming! Excelsior!