“We mutually agreed to part ways. New leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward,” he said, with both entities seeking a replacement from the outside.

Krafton subsequently told IGN that, “Krafton, Inc., Unknown Worlds Entertainment and Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire have reached a mutual settlement and agreed to dismiss all pending legal proceedings. Unknown Worlds and Krafton are focused on supporting Subnautica 2, its Early Access journey to the full 1.0 release and the global community that has made the franchise so special. Unknown Worlds will continue leading development, with Krafton providing support for the success of the game.”

The bonuses, amounting over $250 million, were decided when Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds in 2001 for $500 million. However, following delays to Subnautica 2, the company suddenly fired Gill (alongside co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire). The case went to court, and the judge ruled in Gill’s favor, reinstating him as CEO while upholding Krafton’s commitment to bonuses.

The best part is that all employees will receive compensation rather than just the top brass and those working at the studio since 2021. While doled out over three annual installments, Gill noted that the studio will be “compensated significantly more” alongside “further incentives.”

After all, Subnautica 2 crossed four million copies sold within five days of its early access launch in May. That total is likely to be even higher now, especially as Unknown Worlds continues releasing updates.

What can players expect in the future? The ability to sprint for one alongside a storage cache, voice chat, player trading, additional slots for passive Biomods, and more. You can also expect improvements to Blight Encounters, wrecks, pinned recipes, the PDA databank and more.

It’s even listening to player requests for additional means to deal with hostile sea-life, though you shouldn’t expect to slay them, Sons of the Forest-style, anytime soon. Stay tuned for more details and check out our review for early access here.

While half of the top 10 list in the US were new releases for the month, the other half was made up of older games, like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, MLB: The Show 26, Crimson Desert, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and Mario Kart World.

When taking the whole year into account, Resident Evil Requiem continues to take the top spot for game sales in the US. It is followed by Crimson Desert in second place and MLB: The Show 26 in third place. Despite being a relatively new release, 007 First Light has managed to do incredibly well by taking the fourth spot for the entire year so far, followed by Forza Horizon 6 in fifth. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the only new release to have broken through the top 10 sales for the year, coming in at 7th place.

007 First Light ended up getting quite a few accolades for its performance in May 2026, being the best-selling PlayStation game for the month, as well as the highest “full game dollar sales” of any James Bond game in history.

All in all, Piscatella has reported that total video game spending in the US for May 2026 hit $4.2 billion, which marks a 3 percent increase over May 2025. By the time the month was over, the year-to-date spending was 4 percent higher than last year, coming in at $23 billion.

Interestingly, Piscatella has noted that consoles served as the primary platform for game spending in May 2026 in the US, with total spending having gone up by 25 percent compared to last year. When taking year-to-date figures, console content spending is 13 percent higher. PC and subscriptions haven’t fallen behind either, coming in at 15 percent and 11 percent year-on-year increases, respectively.

Piscatella has also revealed details about console hardware sales in the US for May 2026, noting that both PlayStation and Xbox haven’t been doing too well. While it was the first May faced by PlayStation since 2000, Piscatella has confirmed that May 2026 was the worst May for Xbox since Microsoft launched the division. While there are likely many reasons for console sales falling in this regard, Piscatella also brought up the fact that price hikes have led to consoles simply getting too expensive. Xbox, for example, saw a 22 percent increase in average hardware price since 2025. PlayStation, on the other hand, saw an increase of 33 percent year-on-year.

“Xbox is currently tracking a distant third in hardware sales among the major manufacturers. But they are getting more revenue from each unit sold, enough to make dollar sales grow in May despite the unit drop,” said Piscatella. “If that fits the definition of ‘working’ or not, I don’t know.”

May 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.576Z

YTD 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.577Z

Content – Console drove content spending growth in May. Total spending on console content increased by 25% compared to a year ago and is now 13% higher year-to-date. PC content (+15% versus a year ago) and subscription spending (+11%) also grew in May.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.585Z

Content – 007 First Light was May’s leader in full game dollar sales, debuting as the 4th best-seller of 2026 year-to-date. It also led all titles in full game dollar sales on PlayStation platforms in the month.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T13:00:03.586Z

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.

The studio has acknowledged that creatures need to be better balanced and that some predator encounters currently feel more frustrating than exciting. To deal with this, Unknown Worlds is actively working on improvements to creature behaviour, as well as to the tools available to players to mitigate these encounters. These improvements will include changes to creature aggression timing, aggro range, creature interaction with vehicles and bases, and the effectiveness of tools like flares and the Survival Tool.

For players who want a more direct way to deal with hostile creatures, the studio has reiterated that its intent was never to focus on combat. While it has acknowledged that some players might want ways to kill the game’s many creatures, Unknown Worlds has noted that this likely stems from avoidance and mitigation tools feeling ineffective. It also notes that its intention was never to judge players who want direct combat in the game.

“Our current direction is not based on judging players who want combat, and it is not because we think those players are wrong,” explained Unknown Worlds. “Subnautica has always been built around vulnerability, exploration, and survival rather than traditional weapon-based combat. We believe that this is part of what makes the game unique. However, that design only works if creature encounters feel fair, readable, and engaging. Right now, we know we have more work to do to achieve that.”

When it comes to the Early Access release of Subnautica 2, the studio has noted that this wasn’t simply intended to be an extended beta that revolves around “collecting bug reports.” Rather, it was meant to be a collaborative effort alongside the community to improve the game. Unknown Worlds has acknowledged that it won’t be able to add every new feature or make every single change that the community wants. However, it has also said that it has a responsibility to “listen carefully, explain our decisions respectfully, and show through our actions that player feedback is shaping the game.”

Subnautica 2 is slated to get updates that will bring in general improvements to reflect the fact that the studio is taking community feedback seriously, and Unknown Worlds has expressed hope that this will work as a sign that it wants to work alongside the players to develop the game.

Earlier this week, Subnautica 2 got its first Early Access hotfix, bringing in fixes for bugs and crashes that could affect, among others, players using AMD graphics cards. Along with this, the studio has also promised to bring in changes to its in-game Terms of Service, as well as a new FAQ that will hopefully address the concerns players have had about the title’s current Terms of Service and EULA (End User License Agreement).

Subnautica 2 is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Take a look at our review for more details.

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

This Subnautica 2 guide has every major step towards getting the Heat Tolerance Adaptation.

Processor Blueprint

Once you have acquired the Habitat Blueprint, head for the Old Habitat about 400m to the north. Dive to a depth of 55m to find an airlock leading to the Processor.

Sonic Resonator Blueprint

In this same location, you can get a hold of both parts of the Sonic Resonator: one on a sidetable near an airlock, and the other in an adjoining room, lying on the floor.

Silver Ore

You will be needing this precious resource for the process, and you can find it right near the Old Habitat, in a large cave.

Construct Processor

With 2 Titanium, 1 Mild Acid, and 1 Copper Wire, you are set to construct a Processor within a Habitat. Once done, configure your newly built Processor to load and process Titanium into Ingots.

Craft Sonic Resonator

The Titanium Ingots will allow you to finally craft a Sonic Resonator at the Fabricator.

Heat Tolerance Adaptation

Go south-west around 200m towards the Blackbox – Wander signal and find a tunnel leading straight down at a depth of 35 odd meters. Use your new Sonic Resonator to clear the bloom biofilm cankers that are obstructing your path through. Continue the process until you have successfully purged the infection.

Completely clearing the Angel Comb of its affliction and sampling its core is how you will finally acquire the Heat Tolerance Adaptation.

That is everything there is to know about unlocking the Heat Tolerance Adaptation in Subnautica 2.

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

The response has caught further criticism, with many Subnautica 2 fans taking to Reddit to discuss the developer’s response. “What’s the point of Early Access if you’re just going to not take criticism or feedback,” wrote one Reddit user.

Others, however, have pointed out that wanting feedback from players doesn’t necessarily mean that Unknown Worlds will change its core design philosophy for Subnautica 2. “‘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’?”

“Am I the only one who thinks the no-killing is fine?” asked another Reddit user.

It is worth noting that the previous two entries in the Subnautica franchise – Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero – have allowed players to kill the larger underwater creatures, dubbed the Leviathans. However, those games still made the process a challenging ordeal.

Interestingly, the community seems to have taken it upon itself to create a mod that allows players to engage the underwater fauna of Subnautica 2 in combat. One mod, named Killable Creatures, allows players to kill just about anything, from Hammerheads to Nibblers, and even larger creatures, like the Collector.

Subnautica 2‘s Early Access release, happening just last week, was met with near-instant success, with Unknown Worlds announcing that it had sold more than 2 million copies of the game in just 12 hours after its release. The studio has also confirmed that it has plenty of content in development for the survival game with a roadmap.

The first major update following the Early Access launch will revolve around quality of life features, with improvements planned for the Biomods system, Blight encounters, Wrecks gameplay, the PDA databank, and more. It will be followed up by another major update that will bring in co-op-centric improvements to HUD signals and the Base Builder tool.

In the future, Unknown Worlds wants to expand the in-game world with new biomes, creatures, resources, tools, vehicles, and the next chapter of the story it is trying to tell.

Subnautica 2 is currently only available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, take a look at our Early Access review, where, while we praised its state at launch, we also kept in mind that the game will likely see several improvements down the line.