Subnautica 2 Release Date Revealed Following Reinstatement of CEO Ted Gill

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Published Apr 30, 2026, 3:40 PM EDT

Miller Reynolds is a Writer at DualShockers specializing in news, reviews, guides, interviews, and lists. He began covering games professionally in 2025, bringing a journalism background and more than 25 years of firsthand gaming experience to his work.

Miller studied Advanced Journalism for online, print, and broadcast media at Loyalist College, where he received the Excellence in Writing and Production Award. Before focusing on games coverage, he gained experience writing across topics such as politics, entertainment, and sports. Today, he combines his journalism training with his long-running passion for games to cover current releases, developer interviews, reviews, and practical guides for players.

The highly-anticipated underwater survival game, Subnautica 2, will officially be entering early-access on May 14th, but the announcement comes at the tail-end of a lengthy legal battle that may have left the CEO without a proper chance to review the game.

In July 2025, CEO of Unknown Worlds, Ted Gill, was fired by Krafton, along with Executives Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, prompting them to file a lawsuit against Krafton, claiming they were attempting to avoid their obligation to pay a $250 million dollar bonus.

Subnautica 2 Early Access Officially Begins on May 14th

After almost a year, Ted Gill has been reinstated as the CEO of Unknown Worlds, but it appears Krafton may have begun circulating Subnautica 2's early-access announcement before Gill was able to properly assess the state of the game.

Last month, it was announced that Subnautica 2 would enter early access sometime in May, but according to reports, Gill wasn't fully a part of this decision.

Game File Reporter, Stephen Totilo, reported that Gill's lawyers filed a motion to the court on March 19th, claiming the announcement of the early-access release window was made improperly and is, "damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community."

Despite the judge ordering Gill to be reinstated, and permitting him to launch Subnautica 2 whenever he chooses, Krafton reportedly began announcing the early-access release window before Gill had a chance to review the game.

Last month it was announced that Subnautica 2 would enter early access sometime in May, but according to reports, Gill wasn't fully a part of this decision.

But with a die-hard fan base that's been eagerly awaiting a release date, it appears the turmoil is at least simmering down a bit, as Gill has reportedly dropped his claim against Krafton that accused them of leaking an assessment that the game was ready.

By the looks of it, Gill may have missed out on having the opportunity to have full control over when to announce the games release, but at least we're on the right track, and fortunately, early access will give Gill and the team at Unknown Worlds the chance to get this ship back on the right course with the help of the Subnautica community.

Subnautica 2's early access will officially begin on May 14th, and will be available on PC, and Xbox Series X|S.