Developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment issued a statement clarifying that Subnautica 2 will not be released in 2024. It also corrected the record on other miscommunications. These included incorrect reports that it would be a multiplayer-focused live-service game.
Subnautica 2 devs set the record straight on the game’s release window and more
Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton recently shared its Q4 2023 Earnings report. The report included a “Strategic Titles for 2024” slide listing Subnautica 2 alongside other upcoming games. This was mistakenly taken to mean the game was launching in 2024 when that is not the case. The slide was meant to convey that Unknown Worlds would begin sharing more information about the game this year. The developer still plans to release Subnautica 2 in early access in 2025. The misunderstanding was widespread enough that Unknown Worlds made a blog post clarifying it and other misconceptions.
Studio also set the record straight regarding multiplayer and live service elements. While the game will feature co-op, it is optional, and Subnautica 2 is not multiplayer-focused. Additionally, the use of the phrase “games-as-a-service” here refers to the studio’s plans to continuously update the game over multiple years. Unknown Worlds stressed that Subnautica 2 will not feature any season or battle passes and will not require a subscription.
Subnautica 2 Coming in 2025
Further details on Subnautica 2 are scarce, but the new game will reportedly take players to “an entirely new alien planet.” Despite the radically different climates, Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero both took place on Planet 4546B. While Below Zero introduced plenty of new creatures, there were also a few returning faunae. Others were regional variations or evolutionary relatives of creatures players encountered in the first game. While there is nothing wrong with that, a new planet presumably means a whole new world of things to discover.
It will also be interesting to see how Subnautica 2 continues the popular series’ ongoing metanarrative. The first game saw players racing to find the cure for an alien pathogen called the Kharaa Bacteria. An alien race known as the Architects came to Planet 4546B to study the bacteria but abandoned the planet after the disease broke containment. Below Zero ended on a cliffhanger regarding the fate of the Architects, and the new game will hopefully reveal what happened to them.
Fans will no doubt also be eager to discover what happened to Robin and Al-An, the protagonists of Subnautica: Below Zero. The last game ended with their arrival on the Architect homeworld. Krafton’s mention of a new planet implies that the next Subnautica game will likely pick up from there.
