The Xbox Partner Preview on Thursday showed fans what new software is coming to the platform, and Subnautica 2 was surprisingly one of those games. More info on Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s sequel has arrived, and fans are talking about early access.
The trailer for Subnautica 2 yesterday teased many firsts for the series: a new planet to explore, new protagonists, and the exciting announcement that a four-player co-op will arrive when the title launches. On Friday, fans noticed on the Steam wishlist page for the new Unknown Worlds Entertainment title that it will launch in 2025, as the trailer said, but in early access. The trailer shown yesterday can be seen below to get fans caught up to speed.
The trailer said, “Early Access Coming 2025,” but what does that mean? Subnautica 2‘s page on Steam says the team of Subnautica 2 is going into early access to build the sequel with the feedback of fans who join the early access period and provide feedback.
This is similar to what Hades 2 developer Supergiant Games is doing with their sequel, and with fan feedback, the game will become more complete upon release. What’s different is that Subnautica 2 is only entering early access in 2025, with devs saying on the title page, “It is difficult to accurately predict how long Early Access will last. Based on previous Early Access games we have developed, we expect it to take about 2 to 3 years.”
Fans have mostly embraced the news on the Subnautica Reddit, where many excited users have expressed their interest in the sequel. Some fans are choosing to avoid early access content, with one user, thebeast_96, saying, “I’m going to try my hardest to not watch early access content and wait for the full release to experience the game spoiler-free. Might block Subnautica content everywhere,” in an effort to play the completed title at launch. Most fans are excited for the new exploration Subnautica 2 will offer when it arrives in Early Access in 2025. However, fans should be warned—the full release, according to developer forecasts, is expected much later, around 2026–2027.
