It’s been a long, messy road to release, but Subnautica 2 has finally arrived.
The sequel from Unknown Worlds officially launched into Early Access on May 14 – and within two hours, it had already sold over one million copies.
Not bad for a game that, at one point, looked like it might not even make it out intact.
On Steam, the scale of the launch is hard to ignore. Peak concurrent players hit around 468,000 – roughly nine times higher than the original Subnautica ever reached – and it moved straight to the top of the platform’s Top Sellers chart, overtaking titles like Forza Horizon 6 and Counter-Strike 2 within hours.
There’s clear demand, but the sequel itself is also doing more. Unlike Below Zero, which landed closer to a standalone expansion, Subnautica 2 is positioned as a full follow-up – set on a new planet, built in Unreal Engine 5, and designed around a larger, more complex map.
Co-op has also been introduced for the first time, with up to four players able to explore together, while still keeping the option to play solo.
Mechanically, the changes are incremental but meaningful. The new “Tadpole” submersible introduces a modular vehicle system, signalling a broader focus on customisation and progression rather than just survival.
What’s shaping the conversation just as much as the game itself, though, is what happened behind it.
Subnautica 2 became the centre of a dispute between developer Unknown Worlds and publisher Krafton, with reports alleging attempts to avoid a $250 million bonus tied to the game’s performance. The situation escalated into a legal battle over control of the project.
Unknown Worlds ultimately retained control, reframing the release as more than just another Early Access launch – it’s also the outcome of a high-profile dispute over ownership and revenue in modern game development.
The launch itself hasn’t been entirely smooth. While user reviews are currently sitting at “Very Positive” (around 90%), players have reported stability issues, particularly crashes on newer Intel CPUs. There’s also ongoing discussion around the game’s EULA, with some concern over data collection and content rights.
So while the numbers point to a major success, the current version is still very much a work in progress.
For a project that came close to being derailed, the launch of Subnautica 2 lands somewhere between a strong commercial debut and a broader industry moment – one that highlights both the scale of player demand and the tensions behind how games get made.
