Subnautica 2 launched in early access four days ago, sold 2 million copies in its first twelve hours, and hit a peak of over 467,000 concurrent players on Steam alone. Now Unknown Worlds has shared where the game goes from here – and there’s a lot planned.
The Near-Term: Quality of Life and Co-op
The first update, EA 1.1, is focused on quality of life improvements. The Biomods system is being reworked, alongside blight encounters, wreck gameplay, vehicle docking and fabrication, and the PDA databank. A tweak to the Voicelogs priority system will ensure the most important logs play first when players pick up multiple at once.
EA 1.2 shifts focus to the multiplayer experience. Unknown Worlds is adding proximity chat, emotes, a revive system, and expanded player customization. These are some of the most requested features from players diving into co-op at launch, and it’s good to see them near the top of the roadmap.
The Long Game: Biomes, Creatures, and More Story
Further down the roadmap, Unknown Worlds has outlined plans for new biomes, new creatures, new leviathans, additional tools and vehicles, and expanded story chapters. The studio has committed to at least two years in early access, with updates ranging from targeted hotfixes to major content drops.
The scale of what’s planned reflects the scale of the launch. Subnautica 2 crossed 651,000 concurrent players across Steam, Epic, and Xbox – roughly nine times the original game’s all-time concurrent peak on Steam. Unknown Worlds, which spent the better part of a year fighting Krafton in court just to ship this game at all, now has the momentum to build something substantial.
The full roadmap is available on the Unknown Worlds website. Subnautica 2 is available now in early access on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox Series.
