“Unrecognized game client. Cannot continue” Sea of Thieves

Hi Hunter.

My name is Renato.
I'm an Independent Advisor and a Microsoft Xbox user like you.

I inform you that here in the community, we are all users and do not have access to your data and account. We can only offer you advice based on our knowledge and experience.

I understand that after various attempts, you're tired and somewhat disappointed. However, as you mentioned, your friends reinstalled it and it works for them, so it seems the problem is local to your PC. Unfortunately, system errors can occur, and sometimes a Windows reset or a clean installation might be necessary.

Before considering these more drastic solutions, I recommend trying to reinstall the Game Services. Before proceeding, it's always important to check that there are no pending Windows updates and to ensure that the Xbox app and Game Services are also up to date.

To update Xbox app and Game services

Press the Start button on the taskbar, type store, and open the Microsoft Store app.
Select Library.
Under Updates & downloads, check if there are any updates available for the Xbox app or Gaming Services app. If an update is available, select Update.

To remove and reinstall Gaming services.

Press the Start button on the taskbar,
type 'powershell,'
right-click on Windows PowerShell, and then select 'Run as administrator.'

In Windows PowerShell, type the following command and press Enter:
get-appxpackage Microsoft.GamingServices | remove-AppxPackage -allusers

In the same window, type the following command and press Enter:
start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9MWPM2CQNLHN

Install the app on that page and select 'Yes' when you receive the User Account Control (UAC) prompt.
Restart your device and try to install the game again.

I hope I've been helpful.

Kind regards
Renato

On the Microsoft Store I cannot see Sea Of Thieves, I can only see it on the Xbox Client, but I can see the download on Microsoft Store, even the error.

If you're trying to play the Xbox Insider version of Sea of Thieves, then be aware that this was the closed Beta before the game launched.

Unless they added an Insider Version after I checked two days ago, you can't play that version, as the servers don't accept the Sea of Thieves Beta client anymore.

You will have to buy the actual game, or have an active Game Pass subscription to be able to play Sea of Thieves.

Good evening,

I am also having the same issue where I cannot join my friends on Sea of thieves though the xbox gamesbar. I recently upgrade my pc to windows 11, and no issues with this on windows 10. I have both the steam version and windows store version of sea of thieves but only installed the steam version on my pc since upgrading to windows 11. I am able to play with my friends via the steam client, but when I try to join via the games bar I get the error of ms-application not found or something similar.

Things I have tried to resolve the issue are:
Uninstall / reinstall both the xbox gamesbar and sea of thieves
Deleting the the registry keys for xbox gamesbar and sea of thieves

Neither of these options worked. I am very confident it is not a network error as I am able to play of with others online. It is just inconvenient to not be able to use the xbox app.

Help is appreciated,

Jimmy

Hi there GuidmonLIVE, thanks for reaching out.

We're afraid you cannot play Sea of Thieves through the Insider Program as the game has launched. Sea of Thieves is

available for purchase or you can play it for free with an active
Xbox Game Pass subscription.