Unknown Worlds has shared a first in-game look at Subnautica 2, as part of a new developer video charting the highly anticipated underwater survival sequel’s “road to early access”.
Subnautica 2 (actually the third game in the acclaimed series, following 2021’s standalone Subnautica expansion Below Zero) was confirmed to be in the works all the way back in 2022. A first trailer finally arrived last October, but it was purely a scene-setting cinematic – tipping a nod to the sequel’s new co-op mode – rather than offering any actual gameplay.
Skip ahead a couple of months, and we’ve now been given a first (and early) glimpse of how Subnautica 2 looks in-game. Unknown Worlds shared the early footage as part of its first Road to Early Access developer video, in which design lead Anthony Gallegos offered a small tease of things to come across the update’s brief runtime.
During his chatter, we got a glimpse of some new environments – including what looked to be the Subnautica 2 equivalent of the first game’s Safe Shallows (the sequel is set on a brand-new world) and a bioluminescent underground area – plus a few new aquatic creatures. There’s a second or two of a strange waddling thing with a fan-like tail, and a large fish headbutting rocks. Unknown Worlds also showed a brief peek and co-operative swimming and base building.
It’s not a lot to go on admittedly, and the studio hasn’t announced an early access release date either. All we know so far is it’s due to release “later” this year for Xbox Series X/S and PC (via Steam and Epic), and it’s coming to Game Pass too.
Previously, Unknown Worlds said it expected Subnautica 2 to launch into early access with its co-op multiplayer mode available, alongside “several biomes, some narrative, and a variety of creatures and craftables”. And there’s plenty of time for things to evolve from their, given that the studio is anticipating early access will last “about 2 to 3 years.”