Subnautica players finally got this week the teaser trailer for Subnautica 2 that they’d been waiting for with even better news attached: Subnautica 2 will be releasing into early access in 2025. No more specific release window was given, so we don’t know if it’ll be earlier or later in the year, but it’ll be the first game in the Subnautica series we’ve gotten since the spin-off Subnautica: Below Zero which released back in 2019. For those who are familiar with developer Unknown Worlds’ early access strategies, however, you should expect Subnautica 2 to stay in early access for quite a while.
Unknown Worlds has alluded to early access plans for Subnautica 2 in the past and did so again more plainly this week now that the Steam and Epic Games Store pages for the new Subnautica game are up. On Steam, early access games are typically accompanied with an FAQ for why the game is releasing that way with other topics addressed, too, to clue potential buyers in on why they should trust a game that’s admittedly releasing in an unfinished state. Unknown Worlds has a strong track record with its early access plans, so there’s no reason to doubt Subnautica 2, but the FAQ there does provide more info as to how long the game will stay in early access.
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“It is difficult to accurately predict how long Early Access will last,” said Unknown Worlds when addressing how long Subnautica 2 might be in early access. “Based on previous Early Access games we have developed, we expect it to take about 2 to 3 years. We have a number of goals that we are adamantly working towards. We are focusing on delivering quality at a reasonable pace. At the end of the day, we’re dedicated to completing Subnautica 2 and making it the best game possible.”
Unknown Worlds added in its Subnautica 2 FAQ that the early access method is how it’s “historically built our games,” and it’s correct. The first Subnautica game was release in early access on the PC platform back in December 2014 and stayed in early access until it fully launched in January 2018, so three years and some change in early access before the full release. The next year, Subnautica: Below Zero released in early access in January 2019 and wasn’t fully released until over two years later in May 2021.
During early access, Subnautica 2 will include a multiplayer mode as well as multiple biomes, creatures to find, and some story elements to embark on. Over the 2-3 years that it’s in early access, it’ll get updated with new content including more biomes, creatures, and other features based partially on community sentiment. There were some concerns about Subnautica 2 earlier in the year when its publisher, Krafton, suggested that it would follow a games-as-a-service model, but Unknown Worlds soon clarified afterwards that the plans were more in line with past early access games updated over time which is exactly what’s been laid out after Subnautica 2‘s announcement.
Subnautica 2 will release into early access on the Steam and Epic Games Store platforms in 2025, but it does not yet have a specific release date.