Some two years after its announcement, we’ve been given our first look at developer Unknown Worlds eagerly awaited Subnautica 2, with the sci-fi underwater survival sequel’s debut trailer arriving alongside world it’ll be entering early access next year.
Subnautica 2 – actually the third game in the acclaimed series, following on from the original 2018 entry and its 2021 standalone expansion Subnautica: Below Zero – was initially teased back in April 2022, and later came in for some controversy when publisher Krafton announced it would be a multiplayer live-service game.
Fans were unhappy with this seeming departure from earlier entries, and Unknown Worlds (which was brought PUBG company Krafton in 2021) quickly moved to clear up any confusion, confirming that while it was multiplayer in as much as it supported co-op for up to four players, there would be “no season passes, no battle passes, no subscription” and that co-op was entirely optional.
In fact, the existence of co-op is pretty much all we’ve learned about Subnautica 2 so far (aside from the appearance of some screenshots sneakily popped into the first game), so it’s probably not too much of a surprise to see the feature teased in the game’s very first trailer – a cinematic in which a diver teams meets up with a team mate in the depths of an alien ocean, before a enormous creature makes its presence known.
As for when we’ll finally get our hands on Subnautica 2, Krafton previous said it expects the ocean survival series’ next instalment to arrive in the first half of 2025, but today’s reveal wasn’t quite so specific, merely saying it’ll be launching in to early access sometime next year. Platforms weren’t announced beyond the fact it was revealed during today’s Xbox Partner Preview showcase, so expect some firmer details soon.