The launch of Subnautica 2 saw almost half a million players on Steam at the same time during its first hour. By the time this article was written, the figure stood at an impressive 467,000 concurrent users on Valve’s platform, and Unknown Worlds confirmed the game had sold one million copies within the first hour of launch.
https://twitter.com/Subnautica/status/2054955143825682616
Early reactions suggest the reception is largely positive. The early-access debut earned a 7/10 in our review, praised for its fun factor while acknowledging it remains a work in progress.
It’s pretty impressive that wading in the shallow tides of Subnautica 2’s Early Access debut is as fun as it is already, and that should be a great sign of things to come, but I also wouldn’t blame anyone for waiting for these waters to rise a bit before getting their feet wet.
Subnautica 2 entered the market as one of the most eagerly awaited titles, topping Steam’s wish-list charts before release. Its predecessor earned indie-loving status thanks to a tranquil yet mysterious underwater world, placing players in the role of a crashed astronaut stranded on an alien ocean planet. Survivors must scavenge, adapt and uncover the planet’s secrets, delivering a compelling experience that left room for expansion.
Development began around 2022 with an initial target of a 2025 launch, but the project hit turbulence after a dispute with publisher Krafton. In July 2025, Krafton removed the entire leadership team at Unknown Worlds, including CEO Ted Gill, sparking a legal battle over a delayed bonus worth $250 million. A court later reinstated Gill and his colleagues, allowing the game to get back on track for release.
Just days before the official launch, a leak of Subnautica 2 surfaced online, yet it did not appear to dent the title’s momentum. The release marks the start of an ongoing roadmap that will bring additional narrative content, cooperative play and a vast ocean to explore.
