Subnautica 2 2026

About

Subnautica 2 is an underwater survival adventure set on an all-new alien world, developed by Unknown Worlds. Play alone or with friends in 4-player co-op. Adapt to survive by building custom bases and crafting tools. Explore the unknown to uncover the mysteries hidden within the depths.

Story

The Alterra colony ship Cicada, bound for the desert world of Zezura, inexplicably diverts course and crash-lands on an uncharted ocean moon called Proteus. The world's extreme atmospheric pressure and heavy metal contamination means all human life will perish within months. To survive, the ship's AI uses "reprinting" technology to restore backed-up consciousness into new bodies, but the process causes severe memory loss. Decades after the original colonists vanish under mysterious circumstances, a new investigator is printed to uncover what happened to them and confront the secrets hidden beneath the alien ocean.

What is happening now

Subnautica 2 is an underwater survival adventure where players explore alien ocean worlds, gathering resources and unlocking equipment like the Bioscanner to gain access to new abilities. Since its May 2026 release on PC and Xbox Series X/S, the game has become a major commercial success for publisher Krafton, surpassing 5 million sales within just three weeks and driving the company's record second-quarter earnings. The game has been actively supported post-launch with meaningful updates. The Buddy System patch introduced proximity chat, inventory sharing, and cosmetic emotes to enhance multiplayer cooperation. Developers have also rolled out a beta branch on Steam, allowing players to test experimental patches before official release, though save data won't transfer between versions. Behind the scenes, Subnautica 2's breakout performance comes amid a backdrop of legal disputes with original developer Unknown Worlds, which were settled through developer bonuses. Krafton has since announced plans to develop Subnautica into a broader franchise property.