Subnautica 2 has rolled out its first hotfix during early access, introducing a handful of adjustments to the game. But the bigger story is the promise of revisions to its controversial Terms of Service following a backlash to the End User License Agreement (EULA).
Fans have universally criticised the EULA for Subnautica 2, with many deeming it a significant overreach. Players have highlighted peculiar stipulations, such as the publisher and owner, Krafton, claiming ownership of all mods. There are also disclaimers regarding any gameplay footage or livestreams. However, the EULA gets even more peculiar. It stipulates that players are not allowed to “harm the reputation” of Krafton or Subnautica 2, not allowed to use a VPN, not allowed to spam content from the game (“post or share the same content repeatedly in a way that could be considered spam”), and you’re not allowed to “engage in any acts prohibited by applicable laws or generally unacceptable by social norms.”
A Terms of Service cannot override legal protections for consumers, but Krafton has still faced intense backlash. This has prompted a response in the patch notes for this debut hotfix.
“Adjustments to the Terms of Service and a FAQ addressing concerns with the current version will be rolled out in the near future,” the patch notes state, without providing further details.
Interestingly, the hotfix also reduces the amount of data Subnautica 2 sends to backend services and enables analytics only after accepting the Terms of Service.
Subnautica 2 is barely a week old, but it has already sparked significant debate. The EULA is only part of the discussion. The hot topic is whether the game should let players outright kill fish, which the developers are actively discussing. In the meantime, players have found ways to defend themselves from predators.
If you are just getting started, we have a guide for Things to Do First in Subnautica 2. There are also resource location guides to help you find Titanium, Silver, and more. Discover black box and supply crate locations on our interactive Subnautica 2 map, and make sure you do not miss any Angel Comb Adaptations or Blueprints.
Subnautica 2 early access hotfix 1 patch notes:
- Updated crash-on-startup error pop-up for AMD graphics cards and DirectX 12 issues to provide more guidance and support
- Fixed an infrequent crash related to the Ping feature
- Enabled analytics only after accepting Terms of Service
- Reduced the amount of data being sent to backend services
As a reminder, analytics for Subnautica 2 can be turned off at any time from the settings menu.
Adjustments to the Terms of Service and a FAQ addressing concerns with the current version will be rolled out in the near future.
