After more than four years in active development — and one of the messiest publisher disputes the games industry has seen in years — the Subnautica 2 release date is finally here. The Early Access title from developer Unknown Worlds enters Early Access on May 14th, 2026 at 8:00 AM Pacific Time, bringing 4-player co-op, a new alien world, and a totally rebuilt engine to the franchise.
Here's the complete breakdown of launch times, pricing, what's new, and the backstory of how Subnautica 2 nearly didn't make it to release at all.
The Subnautica 2 release date is officially May 14th, 2026, with the Early Access release unlocking globally at 08:00 PDT / 15:00 UTC. Launch times stagger across regions:
8:00 AM — Los Angeles, United States (PDT)
11:00 AM — New York (EDT)
4:00 PM — London, United Kingdom (BST)
5:00 PM — Paris/Berlin (CEST)
12:00 AM (May 15) — Tokyo (JST)
1:00 AM (May 15) — Sydney (AEST)
Pre-loads are already live on Steam, Epic Games, and Xbox, so you can have the underwater survival adventure downloaded and ready to launch the moment the timer hits zero. Unknown Worlds Entertainment is also hosting a launch celebration on its official Discord server with in-game rewards for those joining the community.
The Subnautica 2 release comes paired with a refreshingly fair price tag. Unknown Worlds has set the Early Access launch price at $29.99 USD, with regional pricing localized through each storefront. The underwater survival adventure game is available on:
Steam (PC)
Epic Games Store (PC)
Xbox Series X|S (via Xbox Game Preview)
PlayStation and Nintendo Switch players will have to wait. Sony and Nintendo don't typically support Early Access programs, so console parity beyond Xbox is expected to follow the full 1.0 launch.
This isn't a graphical refresh — it's a generational leap for the Subnautica universe. Built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, Subnautica 2 introduces a long list of mechanics that weren't possible in the original Subnautica or in Below Zero.
The next chapter of the Subnautica universe takes place on an entirely new alien world, far from the original's Planet 4546B. The setup: you're one of several fellow Pioneers aboard the colony ship CICADA, sent by Alterra to start a new life and find a new home after fleeing ongoing conflict back on Earth. Something goes wrong with the journey, the ship's AI insists you continue the mission anyway, and the planet beneath you may not want you there. What you find here may shape the future of humanity.
For the first time in this survival game franchise, Subnautica 2 supports online co-op for up to four players. You can pick from four pre-designed Pioneers at launch, with more characters and customization options coming throughout Early Access. The game is still designed as a single-player-first experience — co-op is fully optional — but the option to dive into the depths with friends is finally here.
The grid-locked base building of the original Subnautica is gone. Subnautica 2 introduces a new sculptural building system that lets you shape organic structures into the terrain itself, integrating bases with the sea floor rather than parking blocks on top of it. Build retreats within the safety of shallow waters or anchor your home deep in the trenches — the choice is yours.
A new vehicle, the Tadpole submersible, replaces the Seamoth as your early-game traversal option. Bigger surprises include the introduction of DNA modification — a mechanic originally cut from the first Subnautica — which lets you alter your own genome to gain new abilities. A new ocean current system can also drag the player across map areas, helping you uncover the secrets of this strange world while pushing the boundaries of the survival genre.
Subnautica 2 offers a rich world of biodiversity to scan and catalog, with additional biomes promised throughout Early Access. From the surface of this breathtaking new frontier to the deepest abyssal zones, every corner of the map has its own ecosystem to study and document.
The road to the Subnautica 2 release date has been anything but smooth. In July 2025, parent company Krafton abruptly fired the CEO of Unknown Worlds, Ted Gill, along with co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire — the same team that built the studio up from the 2003 Half-Life mod Natural Selection into a global survival-genre leader.
A subsequent lawsuit revealed the dismissals came just months before Krafton was due to pay the original team a bonus of up to $250 million tied to revenue milestones — a payout that an on-time release would have triggered. Court documents alleged that Krafton's CEO had used ChatGPT to help plan the firings in an effort to avoid the bonus, despite legal counsel warning the payout was contractually required regardless.
In March 2026, a judge ruled the dismissals were improper, reinstated Ted Gill as CEO of Unknown Worlds, and extended the bonus earnout window. Days later, the May 14th Early Access date was announced — though Gill has publicly stated the announcement was made by Krafton without his approval, signaling that tension between the two parties hasn't fully resolved.
The disruption did affect the development process, with some performance issues expected at launch. Unknown Worlds is leaning into its long-stated philosophy of open development, asking Early Access players to flag bugs and feedback through the official Discord server.
Official Subnautica 2 release date announcements come from Unknown Worlds through four primary channels: the Unknown Worlds blog at unknownworlds.com/news, the official Subnautica 2 Discord server, the game's Steam, Epic Games, and Xbox store pages, and the Unknown Worlds YouTube channel hosting the Dev Vlog series.
Here's what each channel typically covers:
Unknown Worlds blog (unknownworlds.com/news) — cinematic trailer drops, price reveals, and launch date confirmations
Official Subnautica 2 Discord server — weekly developer updates and direct community engagement
Steam, Epic Games, and Xbox store pages — current pricing, patch notes, and pre-load information
Unknown Worlds YouTube channel — the Dev Vlog series with extended gameplay previews and behind-the-scenes content
For breaking news outside official channels, IGN, GameSpot, PC Gamer, and Engadget have all provided strong ongoing coverage throughout the development saga — including the Krafton lawsuit, the leadership reinstatement of CEO Ted Gill, and the May 14th launch confirmation. For the most authoritative information, however, Unknown Worlds' own channels remain the primary source.
Yes — significant ones. The Early Access version that launches May 14th represents the foundation of Subnautica 2, but it's intentionally smaller in scope than the eventual 1.0 release.
Available at Early Access launch:
The starting biomes and core map area
Four pre-designed Pioneer characters
The Tadpole submersible and sculptural base-building system
Solo and 4-player co-op modes
Core story setup and opening narrative
Coming during Early Access (between launch and 1.0):
Additional biomes deeper into the planet's ocean
More vehicle upgrades, equipment, and craftables
Expanded story content and narrative chapters
New creatures and biodiversity to scan
Additional playable characters and customization options
Performance optimizations and bug fixes
The full 1.0 release is currently expected sometime in 2027, though no firm date has been announced. Unknown Worlds has emphasized that Early Access buyers receive every update through the 1.0 launch and beyond at no additional cost — meaning purchasing during Early Access is the most economical entry point into the full Subnautica 2 experience.
The Subnautica 2 release date marks the end of one of the strangest chapters in recent game-publishing history — and the start of a new era for the Subnautica universe. At $29.99, with 4-player co-op, Unreal Engine 5 visuals, and a wide-open alien planet to explore, this is one of the most anticipated Early Access launches of 2026.
Whether you're a Subnautica veteran or a newcomer drawn in by the buzz, May 14th is the date to mark. Pre-load now, set your alarm for 8:00 AM Pacific, and prepare to dive.
Alex Castellari · Editor
Editor
