Following up on his claim that Subnautica 2 is launching with “more biomes, creatures, Leviathans”, and so on, design lead Anthony Gallegos is now calling it “bigger and more polished than anything the studio’s ever done for a first early access release.”
A bold claim, to be sure, but it’s bolstered by Unknown Worlds’ track record and several delays to ensure the sequel meets fans’ lofty expectations. Of course, Gallegos also told PC Gamer in a recent interview that community feedback is key.
“As we go on, we want to have a mix of stuff that’s very polished that we feel very confident in, and other stuff that we’re like, ‘What do you guys think about this? Help us drive this development.'”
This approach, which helped set the studio apart from other early access titles and raised the bar for the model, ultimately appealed to Gallegos. “One of the things that attracted me to the studio—and attracted many of the people that work here—was that it was always okay with putting out early ideation because they wanted to do open development, where the community gets to see something that’s unfinished intentionally so they can provide feedback and have a real impact on the final product. That’s something we’re still trying to preserve at the studio.”
To that end, Subnautica 2 currently has a Nolt board where fans have posted suggestions, from extreme weather and waves to a copy of Subnautica 1 protagonist Ryley’s book. How would it make sense from a lore perspective? Your guess is as good as ours.
“They’re already posting ideas and things for us to do, but as soon as the game comes out, we’re going to be able to validate an awful lot of what we thought were good ideas,” said creative media producer Scott MacDonald. “And I’m sure the community will let us know what they dislike as well, because they’re usually pretty loud.”
How much of this will be available when early access is available later today at 8 AM PST for PC and Xbox Series X/S remains to be seen. Unknown Worlds has already showcased multiple different biomes on Zezura, the new planet, alongside new Leviathans like the creepy, Cthulhu-esque Collector. We’ve also seen the Tadpole, a new submersible that can swap out chassis, and heard about the mysterious Tree that you totally shouldn’t visit.
All of this culminates in an early access launch that’s already under pressure, even without the pall of a lawsuit between the studio’s founders and Krafton. With five million wishlists and topping the Steam global sales charts based on revenue, it’s sink or swim for Unknown Worlds, and it knows it.
