The bonus is slated to be part of Krafton’s agreement for when it purchased Unknown Worlds all the way back in 2021. As part of this deal, the company had agreed to pay the studio’s former shareholders 3.12 for every $1 made up to $250 million based on Unknown Worlds’ performance, assuming the developer was able to bring in revenues of $69.8 million a month.

This acquisition deal had been the subject of major tensions between Krafton and the leadership of Unknown Worlds. In July last year, the company had said that Subnautica 2 was originally slated for an Early Access launch in 2024, and blamed a “lack of leadership” at the developer for the delay.

Noting that the $250 million compensation would have gone to the three co-founders of Unknown Worlds – Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire – the publisher said that the deal was signed “with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.”

“However, regrettably, the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them. Subnautica 2 was originally planned for an Early Access launch in early 2024, but the timeline has since been significantly delayed.”

This inevitably caused quite a few back-and-forths between the co-founders and Krafton, even leading to a lawsuit. Among the accusations levied at Krafton was the fact that its CEO, Changham Kim, was “desperate” to avoid paying out the promised bonuses to the studio and even resorted to asking ChatGPT for advice.

“Desperate to avoid such a professional embarrassment, Kim obsessed over finding a way to avoid Krafton’s obligation to pay the earn-out,” reads a pre-trial brief filed by lawyers representing Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire back in November. “[Krafton’s global head of corporate development, Maria Park] told Kim that ‘it seems to be highly likely that the earn-out will still be paid if the sales goal is achieved, regardless of the dismissal with cause.’ Kim turned to artificial intelligence to help him brainstorm ways to avoid paying the earn-out. ChatGPT likewise advised that it would be ‘difficult to cancel the earn-out.’ But Kim was undeterred.”

The lawsuit has since been settled, however, with a Delaware Chancery Court judge reinstating Gill as the CEO of Unknown Worlds. “Judgment is entered in favor of Fortis [which represents the Unknown Worlds founders] on its Phase One claims,” stated vice chancellor Lori W. Will. “Krafton breached the EPA by terminating the Key Employees without valid Cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds.”

In the meantime, Subnautica 2 came out on PC and Xbox Series X/S as an Early Access title, and Unknown Worlds has already started bringing in improvements to the survival crafting game. A hotfix released earlier this week, for instance, brought in buffs for Silver and Troilite drops and nerfed Hammerheads.

Yes, the franchise is quite popular among survival fans thanks to its bizarre premise and the way it bakes that weirdness into its gameplay. But there have been titles that have squandered that advantage over the years. What makes this one different? What has made two million players dive right into the depths of the alien planet it takes you to, surfacing only to get some air before you go right back to it again?

That’s what we’re here to tell you about. Let’s go!

The Story Behind The Survival

It can be easy for a survival title to take a relaxed approach to its narrative, using it to frame your actions within a specific context that makes the gameplay loop meaningful to its players. But Subnautica 2 is self-aware enough to subvert that particular fallacy, and bakes its narrative into the world’s very design in ways that make its themes become a constant undercurrent no matter what you’re doing in the game.

While that might make you expect a complex premise, that isn’t the case. It’s simple enough to get into early, and it acts as the catalyst for some very nuanced examinations of corporate apathy, the dangers of technology, the nature of reality, and a gripping story about your fellow crew members. You step into the shoes of a Pioneer who joins their comrades on the CICADA colony ship to leave your conflict-ridden home planet behind in search of greener pastures.

In typical Subnautica fashion, things don’t really go according to plan, and you’re stranded on a planet that’s more water than land. While that isn’t too bad on its own, this one’s trying to take over your mind, and you’re also left relying on a digital AI assistant from Alterra, the corporation that sponsors your trip, that seems to have plans of its own, although it’s too early to tell what those might be.

Of course, every run you take on is going to help you discover that your trip might have been ill-fated from the very start, and each new discovery brings more lore and world-building to the table in a way that has you constantly questioning your own assumptions. It helps that some of those discoveries are downright unsettling, and the story does a great job of leaving you wanting more.

However, the fact that Subnautica 2 goes harder than its predecessors is only a part of why it’s such an addictive experience. Its story is facilitated by your own diligence in exploring the planet that it takes place on, and as such, the world you’re engaging with is our next stop in our examination of what makes this one so irresistible.

A Hostile Working Environment

Even in its Early Access version, there’s a staggering amount of flora and fauna to discover in Subnautica 2, while the environments and biome variety are also quite great for what’s clearly a fraction of what the full release is intended to look like. We’ve already been to poison swamps and volcanic areas that have geysers you do NOT want to walk into at the wrong moment, lest you learn a lesson you’re not likely to forget the hard way. That’s exactly what we did, just so that you don’t have to.

But of course, curiosity is the driving force behind Subnautica 2. It’s designed to have you thinking about your personal goals within the planet’s exploratory framework, while every run gives you enough tidbits from the overarching story to keep you hooked. It helps that the crafting systems have been refined, and that most of the stuff you pick up has uses in multiple recipes. If you’re a hoarder, this one is going to have you very happy indeed.

The base building feature is another improvement over the previous games, and it’s now so intuitive that it’s become an important part of our time with the game. We’d have loved to have our buddies visit our bases when diving into multiplayer, but that’s not a part of things at the moment. It is what it is. However, making your base the best it can be feels so rewarding, thanks to a lot of options to make it your own personal showcase of the hours you’ve put into the game.

Granted, the early access version’s red walls limit how much of the planet you’re going to be visiting until future updates come along, but the chunk of it that’s currently on offer is a great showcase of better things to come, given that there’s no reason to be pessimistic about the quality of future content in this one. You might say that everything we’ve said about the planet you’re exploring is kind of taken for granted in any open-world survival title, and you’d be right.

But Subnautica 2 gets you so invested in the alien planet in a way that makes you feel like you’re a part of it, for better or worse. That every discovery builds narrative tension while dishing out new ways to engage with the world makes this planet a must-see destination for players who like survival titles or melancholic and deeply unsettling stories. Take your pick.

Lonely, But Not Alone

We’ve spoken at length about the single-player experience, but the addition of co-op multiplayer with up to three Pioneers is among the biggest and most welcome changes that Subnautica 2 brings to the franchise’s formula.

The often lonely and suffocating nature of the solo experience makes way for a cooperative gameplay loop that works very well within the game’s framework, while progression gets quite quick when you work together as a team.

It’s good that there’s a distinction between the solo experience and multiplayer since it strikes a balance between the disquieting solitude of solo runs while letting those of you who are just there to wet your feet bring some much-needed company along. It’s a nice way to weave in some player agency in how the experience is approached, while playing comes with its own ways to make the game your own.

The ability to add mutations to your character to give yourself unique abilities sets up the scope for solid build potential later down the line, while vehicles like the Tadpole are solid, but have yet to show us their full potential.

We’ll be the first to admit that Subnautica 2 isn’t perfect, but we’d ask you to remember that this is the first step in a long journey. And it’s one that has so many more milestones to its completion, and a lot of ground to cover.

The Search For A Better Future

Subnautica 2 might have had a release that most Early Access titles would dream of, but we’re afraid its challenges are just beginning. Just like how it expects its Pioneers to bring their best to each run, every update from the developers needs to sustain the momentum gained from the release build.

The lack of more content is definitely among the most prevalent complaints, and it’s one that carries the risk of fatigue and players dropping off the game as other titles compete for their attention. Although the franchise’s value offsets that risk, it needs to navigate the game’s future with precision.

Subnautica 2’s release build feels like everything comes with a ceiling that you can’t help but feel at every turn, the knowledge of its existence making you wonder just how much you can get out of the world within the red walls that are holding you back from the rest of the planet. It’s how the game breaks that ceiling, and how well it manages to do so over multiple updates that will decide if this one can be the best one in the franchise yet.

Other noteworthy fixes include crashes that could occur when getting disconnected from a multiplayer game or when randomly exploring the late-game region. Epic settings on PC should also yield improved performance, and as promised, Unknown Worlds has revamped its previously controversial Terms of Service.

These include changes to sections relating to Gameplay Videos, Limitation of Liability, Prohibited Uses, and more, which the developer has changed to reflect how it collects and shares the player’s information.

Furthermore, players can now turn off analytics at any time. There’s even a callout to alert them to the same. You’ll need to re-accept the Terms of Service, and they should be effective “immediately or, if required, at the end of any notice period where you live.”

If this doesn’t sound like a massive content drop or such, get used to it, because this is how the developer handles early access. Check out its roadmap for more details on what’s coming up, and read our review on whether it’s worth diving into Subnautica 2 right now.

Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 2

• Added more Silver resource areas in early game region
• Added more Troilite resource areas in late game region
• Adjusted Hammerhead behavior so they are no longer as attracted to Tadpole lights.
• This previously resulted in Hammerheads following players, even back to their bases, and hanging out there trying to reach the Tadpole
• Fixed a bug where players could occasionally be teleported back to their base while exploring in a Tadpole
• Fixed an infinite oxygen bug after a player died of hunger or thirst while piloting a Tadpole
• Resolved a crash that could occur when losing connection from a multiplayer game
• Fixed a crash that could occur randomly in the late game region
• Improved performance when using Epic visual settings
• Added callout to let players know that telemetry can be turned off at any time from settings
  – This callout is only available in English and will be translated in the next patch
• Implemented some changes to the Terms of Service
  – Revised sections include Preamble, Limited License, Gameplay Videos, Prohibited Uses, Ownership, Section Title, Player-Submitted Content, Limitation of Liability, Transfer of Terms and Conditions
• Implemented some changes to the Privacy Policy
  – Revised sections include Privacy Notice, What Information Do We Collect, How We Share Your Information, Security of Your Information

Executive producer Fernando Melo said in a press release, “We’re incredibly grateful for the response from players around the world. Seeing millions of players dive into this new world during Early Access has been an incredible moment for the team. Community feedback continues to help shape the future of Subnautica 2, and we’re excited to keep building the experience together with our players.”

Of course, it’s also available on Game Pass via Game Preview for Xbox Series X/S and PC, so the total number of players could be even higher. On Steam alone, Subnautica 2’s lifetime peak concurrent player count has utterly demolished the original, standing at 467,582. While the numbers have certainly dropped since then, a 24-hour peak of 141,718 concurrent players is still impressive.

The only downside to all this, at least for fans, is that this is only the beginning of a long early access period. Unknown Worlds estimates that at least two years before 1.0 is ready, though plans can and will change. Just recently, it acknowledged complaints about being unable to kill the various hostile fish roaming the seas of Proteus.

Don’t expect weapons anytime soon, but it is working to balance creature behavior and improve player mitigation tools to ensure less frustrating interactions. How these will fit into the existing roadmap remains to be seen, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out our thoughts on the early access version.

Among the player restrictions defined by the EULA are a ban on using VPNs, an ownership of any mods that might be developed for the survival crafting game, and even a ban on players from bringing “harm” to the “reputation” of Krafton or Subnautica 2.

Players can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to the promise of changes to the game’s Terms of Service, as well as a new FAQ that will address concerns that players have been feeling with the current EULA, in the “near future”. It is worth noting, however, that Unknown Worlds hasn’t quite offered any further details about how its Terms of Service will be changing.

“Adjustments to the Terms of Service and a FAQ addressing concerns with the current version will be rolled out in the near future,” wrote the studio at the bottom of its patch notes.

As for the update itself, it also brings in a fix for crashes that can be caused when using the Ping feature. Interestingly, the game also automatically enables analytics tracking after players have read and agreed to the Terms of Service. However, the analytics tracking can also be turned off at any time from the in-game settings menu.

In the meantime, Unknown Worlds has also been facing some criticism from players over Subnautica 2 not providing players with any way to take on its underwater fauna in combat. Discussing the topic on the game’s official Discord server, one level designer said that players who want to kill things should go play another survival crafting game, like Sons of the Forest, and that Subnautica 2 is not a “killing game”.

“We aren’t a killing game,” wrote the level designer. “Go play Sons of the Forest or something if you want to kill.”

As one might imagine, this response has led to further heated conversations about what defines appropriate feedback over some players just being upset over a game’s design ethos. While some players took to the game’s subreddit to ask “What’s the point of Early Access if you’re just going to not take criticism or feedback,” others have noted that “‘We want your feedback” is not the same thing as ‘we will cave to every request you make’,” they wrote. “If everyone went to the Early Access and was like ‘we want it to be an FPS, but like set the game on Earth in the modern day’, would they be in the wrong to say ‘go play [Call of Duty] instead’?”

Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 1 patch notes:

• Updated the crash-on-startup error pop-up for AMD graphics cards and DirectX 12 issues to provide more guidance and support
• Fixed an infrequent crash related to the Ping feature
• Enabled analytics only after accepting Terms of Service
• Reduced the amount of data being sent to backend services

Biobed #1

Head south-west from the Lifepod until you come across the wreckage of what looks like a wing about 20m down. Turn around until it’s to your north and look down for the entrance to a bunker. Use the Biobed, rather than just Scan it, in order to receive the ‘Endurance Adapted, Inventory Expanded’ benefit.

Biobed #2

Dive south-east of the Lifepod, going past the Welcome Center to your right. You will pass a pair of small pillars on your left with another one looming large further ahead on the right. Keep your distance as you face the large pillar so that it is to the south-west, and then look for a cave entrance about 40m down. You can also access this cave from the base of the pillar itself. Through the cave and to the right is another bunker with a Biobed and Endurance Adaptation.

Biobed #3

Journey about 200m to the north-east of the Lifepod until you come to a large chasm, then about-face to the south-west. You should be able to see the entrance to a cave clearly lit by a beacon around 30m under the surface. Head inside and to the left to find a third bunker with a Biobed and Endurance Adaptation.

Biobed #4

Note that this upgrade will require the Heat Tolerance Adaptation in order to access the general location.

Proceed due east of the Lifepod for just over 450m, going right past the glowing red pillars on your right until you encounter the wreckage of a gigantic chassis. Facing the wreck so that it is at 150 degrees, submerge to about 80 odd meters to find the entry point inside. Make a left into the first hallway, and left again into the first side room to find the fourth and final Biobed with an Endurance Adaptation.

By this point you ought to have 32 inventory slots in all.

Biobed #5

Head in the direction of 15 degrees from the Lifepod, going just past the weird four armed sculpture/organism to your left. Abruptly turn to the north-west and notice the platform about 35m down. Further to its left is a cave opening that goes straight down. At the bottom it will be difficult to orient yourself in this labyrinth, but try to proceed into an opening going north-west at 70m down. Once through, turn to the south-west to see the familiar glow of a bunker opening at about 85m down, with a Biobed and your first Dexterity Adaptation which improves Tool Quick-Access.

Biobed #6

The second and only remaining Dexterity Adaptation also requires the Heat Tolerance Adaptation in order to reach its general location.

Dive south-east of the Lifepod, continuing right past the familiar location of the bunker housing Biobed #1 beneath the large pillar. Keep going until you can submerge further below 50m into the fiery orange depths. Turn to the north-east and look for an underwater crevasse about 85m down. Once inside, make a quick left to find the bunker entrance at 90m underwater, with the last Biobed and its Dexterity Adaptation.

Those are the locations of all 4 Endurance Adaptations and 2 Dexterity Adaptations for maximizing the number of both inventory slots and tool quick-access slots in Subnautica 2.

This guide for Subnautica 2 is all about locating the Collector Leviathan and successfully bio scanning it.

Collector Leviathan Location

Journey eastwards from the Lifepod staying just below the surface for just short of a kilometer. Once things start turning a bit murky 950m or so from the Lifepod, dive down to 50m and scan the waters from the north all the way to the east for the creature, which is a giant squid with glowing purple markings on it.

Bio Scan The Collector Leviathan

Bio scanning the Collector Leviathan is best accomplished with the help of the Tadpole. Also make sure to have the Bioscanner at the ready in a Tool Quick-Access slot for convenience and speed.

Once you encounter the Leviathan, use the Tadpole as a distraction. The Collector Leviathan will grab the craft with its tentacles and eventually shove it away violently. Immediately disembark the Tadpole and quickly swim up to the Leviathan, which should still be relatively close by, to begin bio scanning it from right on top of its head.

As soon as the scan is complete, hastily make for the Tadpole before the Collector Leviathan can initiate another attack. Once inside, the danger isn’t over just yet, so dive all the way down to a depth of 250m in order to shake off the Collector Leviathan’s pursuit, while also heading back in the general direction of the Lifepod. It should give up fairly quickly.

Various Tadpole mods can make the entire experience easier, including the speed upgrade.

That is everything there is to know about finding and bio scanning the Collector Leviathan in Subnautica 2.

Going “bigger” doesn’t just mean Unknown Worlds needs to sell a lot of copies to net those promised bonuses; it also means more of everything, starting with the stakes. Working for Alterra and setting off on the Cicada alongside other colonists to the promised land of Zezura, you instead end up crashing on Proteus (so yes, all that teasing was indeed a bait). As you escape and gather resources while trying to piece together what happened, you see the massive, mysterious tree, seemingly serving as a tower, a beacon, a threat.

"The writing isn’t always spotless, as evidenced by one of the first audio logs that you’ll find, but I have to hand it to Subnautica 2 for creating an atmosphere and set of characters who are very clearly losing their minds."

Now your Noetic Advisor has an alert. You scour the ocean floor, discovering the remains of other colonists, their bases and their struggles. Audio logs reinforce the poisonous nature of Proteus’s water, which induces something called Masefield Syndrome, where you’ll hear the voices and echoes of the dead. Then there’s the Proteavirus, and being able to modify your genes to adapt to the planet – almost like you’re becoming part of its ecosystem. The Noetic Advisor has another two or three alerts in the meantime, while your other AI makes observations about ecological disasters and other underwater marvels.

Narratively, it’s a lot to take in within a short span, and that’s before we even get to the whole ethical dilemma underpinning the biobeds. This is the in-game explanation for why your character can respawn in the survival crafting sense. A sinister sensation underpins it throughout, especially since the technology can effectively “reset” a person’s mind, removing any unwanted memories. Oh, and if it wasn’t obvious enough already, the Noetic Advisor is seemingly up to no good. The other AI that accompanies you everywhere? Just fine and dandy, I’m sure. And yes, there is even more plot waiting, the development team’s disclaimer of early access only offering “some” narrative be damned.

On the one hand, I really like venturing out to discover the final moments of these doomed crew members, especially with how they intertwine with other objectives, from scanning Tadpole fragments to uncovering Biomods (which can provide active abilities like dashing and passive benefits like faster swimming speed near surfaces). I’m less of a fan of the Advisor’s extensive soliloquies on each member. Since you need to track down these markers and black boxes to advance the plot, it feels like Unknown Worlds wanted to dress up the actual quest-giving as much as possible. As well-written and voice-acted as it can be, I wouldn’t mind if it were more succinct, or doled out fewer alerts in general. Let me discover some of those memories for myself. It’s not like the game doesn’t already accommodate this by leaving various copies of tools around to scan, anticipating that I may have swum north instead of immediately to the east of my life pod.

The writing isn’t always spotless, as evidenced by one of the first audio logs that you’ll find, but I have to hand it to Subnautica 2 for creating an atmosphere and set of characters who are very clearly losing their minds. The overarching lore and world-building of Proteus are also incredibly enticing, which means it stings all the more that the complete story won’t be out for years to come. However, if you’re someone who prefers the quieter touch of the original, the general verboseness will take some getting used to.

"The sheer level of detail in the environment ensures that I’m frequently discovering new alcoves, hidden spots or workstations in plain sight that could offer more insight into the surroundings."

But the actual gameplay loop is as good as it gets. That feeling of stepping out into the planet – that first dive into the clear blue sea, encountering the sheer range of flora and fauna, is incredible. Aquatic life roams about, some mindful of your presence and others less so, to the point of becoming deeply offended; coral rock can hide the ever-valuable Quartz within its hollow formations; high-velocity currents can facilitate back and forth between familiar sights; and it’s all gorgeously animated, realistically reacting to light and shadow. The same goes for the sound – some noises are so distinct that you instinctively know when a predator has your scent. In the same vein, panic sets in when an unknown noise suddenly breaks out.

The DNA-alteration is more of a variable-style means of progression – interacting with the glowing purple clams grants you the ability to withstand the planet’s pressure at the start, and you’ll eventually discover the means to ingest alien matter for sustenance. Which then gives way to an upgrade for surviving hotter temperatures, and so on. There’s joy in crafting and uncovering new recipes, especially for base-building, as you scan every single piece of furniture, but the pace and depth of exploration quickly outpace your singular oxygen upgrade. Granted, there are ways to circumvent this – moving your base as required – but actually raising the amount is far preferable.

Optimisation is still a work in progress – I don’t know why there isn’t a field-of-view slider (there’s a way to pull the camera back slightly, but it requires delving into the Config folder on PC), or why it compiled shaders twice in two days. And I swear that DLSS and Frame Generation could be separately adjusted at one point before being locked together, thus forcing me onto TSR. Changing the resolution to 1440p at the start was similarly a Herculean task, especially when my screen remained zoomed in (and wouldn’t fix until after restarting the game). However, performance is fairly stable throughout with the very occasional frame stumble. Not bad, especially considering the sheer amount of detail on-screen at a given moment.

All of this – and other issues – can’t diminish that feeling of just picking a spot, as a certain character puts it, and exploring as far as possible. The sheer level of detail in the environment ensures that I’m frequently discovering new alcoves, hidden spots or workstations in plain sight that could offer more insight into the surroundings.

"Like a siren of the deep, Subnautica 2 calls out to underwater enthusiasts, even if it needs more time to unleash its grand performance."

Maybe I’ll encounter a brand-new species – a giant crab with a coral formation stuck to its back that usually remains camouflaged. Perhaps I’ll discover some infection that must be destroyed with the newly acquired Sonic Resonator when I’m not dealing with swarms of annoying parasites. I could spend time gathering resources for meaningful upgrades to my base, which feels downright sublime to modify, be it incrementally extending width, length and height or taking full advantage of the ability to craft from storage.

As good as Subnautica 2 currently is in early access, there’s that part of me that knows it can only get better down the line, and whether it wouldn’t be better to dive in when there’s an actual, tangible end awaiting. Nevertheless, like the ghost-like voices echoing through the ocean, or that unexplored expanse that I swim towards like a moth to a flame, I’m still keen on plumbing Proteus’s depths and learning everything there is to know. If any of the above sounds like a fun exploration loop, survival crafting or not, I recommend giving early access a try. Like a siren of the deep, Subnautica 2 calls out to underwater enthusiasts, even if it needs more time to unleash its grand performance.

This game was reviewed on PC.

But in the meantime, players can expect improvements to…almost every system in the game. Biomods, Blight Encounters, wrecks, vehicle docking, the PDA databank, and fabrication are on the docket for update 1.1 alongside new features like a storage cache, more passive Biomod slots and – hold your breath – sprint.

Update 1.2 focuses on co-op quality-of-life improvements, including voice chat, emotes, more customisation options, and the ability to trade with and revive other players. HUD signals, pinned recipes and the base builder tool are also due for improvements.

No release dates, unfortunately, which follows the team’s flexibility as it solicits feedback from players. “This roadmap is subject to change or adjustment. We want to hear from you, our community, on what we should be looking at while we develop Subnautica 2. Community input is key to shaping the game throughout Early Access!” However, you can expect optimisation, bug fixes, and balance changes as well.

Though planned to remain in early access for at least two years, Unknown Worlds is committed to fully releasing Subnautica 2 only when it’s good and ready. Stay tuned for more updates, and in the meantime, check out our feature for everything you should know about early access.

The peak concurrent player count on Steam remains at 467,582, but with the weekend rolling around, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it doubled. However, the user reviews have improved significantly. Currently at 11,480, about 93 percent recommend the underwater adventure, resulting in a “Very Positive” rating.

Design lead Anthony Gallegos said before launch that it’s “bigger and more polished” than the studio’s previous early access launches. The former certainly holds, especially if you’re taking the time to explore and figure things out on your own. Yet there are several technical areas to improve, including the lack of a field-of-view slider. There’s also the End User License Agreement, which has caused controversy among some players.

Regardless, you can expect the popularity of Subnautica 2 to only grow from here on, especially as Unknown Worlds begins to roll out updates. Early access is expected to last at least two years (at most, three) with the studio adding more content, including new biomes, features, and creatures. It also confirmed that the price will increase for the 1.0 release.