Subnautica 2 release date announced for Steam after legal dispute

2 hours ago 2

Published Apr 30, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Unknown Worlds and Krafton are co-publishing the highly anticipated survival game

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After a long and publicly messy pre-launch period, Subnautica 2 finally has a firm release date. The underwater survival sim will launch into early access on May 14 for Windows PC and Xbox Series X, developer Unknown Worlds announced Thursday.

The third entry in the franchise (after 2018's Subnautica and 2021's Subnautica: Below Zero) will once again be an underwater exploration-focused survival sim. It'll be set on a new planet with plenty of tiny fish and towering Leviathans to catalog. Unlike the first game, you'll be able to explore with friends in Subnautica 2 as its multiplayer features will support up to four players.

"Co-op [will] help the game have an identity that feels very distinct," game design lead Anthony Gallegos told Polygon over a recent video call. For Gallegos and developer Unknown Worlds, adding multiplayer was just as key to Subnautica 2 as its new setting and story.

Subnautica 2's launch comes after a drawn-out legal dispute between Unknown Worlds and its publisher Krafton. It was originally announced in late 2024, and things were going normally — at least in the public's eye — until last summer. In July 2025, Krafton delayed Subnautica 2's early access release and fired key Unknown Worlds executives, prompting a legal battle over a potential $250 million payout to Unknown Worlds.

The legal battle continued into March of this year when Krafton was ordered by a judge to rehire a fired executive, CEO Ted Gill. It did so, and then promptly announced a May release window for Subnautica 2 before he had the chance to properly assess the state of the game and its team.

Earlier in April, Krafton was removed from the publisher field on Subnautica 2's Steam page, raising eyebrows from those who were following the battle between Unknown Worlds' executives and Krafton. Gallegos confirmed to Polygon that Krafton is still, in fact, involved with bringing Subnautica 2 to market.

"We're co-publishing it together," he said. "We're working through it all together."

Unknown Worlds will also be working with the Subnautica community, in a way. Gallegos said early access is "built into the DNA of the studio" and that the team will incorporate player feedback into the game throughout the early access period, like it did with its previous two games.

Subnautica 2 will be released in early access on May 14. Expect it to remain in early access for two to three years before it's ready for a 1.0 launch.