The wait is nearly over. Subnautica 2 arrives in early access on May 14, pulling players back into the depths of an alien ocean for another round of survival, exploration, and creature discovery.
Unknown Worlds Entertainment's sequel launches as a work-in-progress across Steam, Xbox Series X and S, and the Epic Games Store, with immediate availability on Game Pass. The studio has made clear that early access feedback shapes development. "The earlier you play, the faster we hear what you want," the developer said, emphasizing how player input drives iteration throughout the game's creation.
Preload is available now on all platforms. PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions have not been announced.
Early Access Release Times:
Players logging in across different regions will see the game go live at these times on May 14-15:
May 14: 8am PDT (San Francisco), 9am CST (Mexico City), 10am CDT (Chicago), 11am EDT (New York), 4pm BST (London), 5pm CEST (Paris), 11pm CST (Beijing)
May 15: 12am JST (Tokyo), 1am AEST (Sydney), 3am NZST (Wellington)
As a gesture to the community, every player receives a Reaper Leviathan Statue blueprint. The developer previously said this would be a week-one exclusive, but has since confirmed it's permanent, rewarding the game's 5 million Steam wishlist additions.
The road to launch has been rocky. Unknown Worlds and publisher Krafton had a very public disagreement that threatened the project's future, but the two moved forward together. Now the studio invites players into the creation process from day one, relying on their reports to catch bugs and shape what comes next.
Author Emily Chen: "Early access always carries risk, but Unknown Worlds has earned the benefit of the doubt here, and the studio's commitment to player feedback during development is exactly how sequels should be built."
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