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Subnautica
Subnautica 2 is in early access as of May 15, 2026, with a 2-3 year development plan. The sequel has sold over 5 million copies in 22 days, and the original Subnautica has reached a new all-time player peak.
Synthesized from 6
Yomimono stories · updated
3d ago
Subnautica 2 entered early access on May 15, 2026, and quickly became a commercial force. Within 22 days it surpassed 5 million cumulative sales, and it held a 'Very Positive' Steam rating from over 113,700 reviews, 91% of which were positive. The launch also drove the original Subnautica to a new all-time concurrent player peak of 51,446 around May 25, surpassing the 51,156 record set at its 2018 full release. A 75% discount on the original game contributed to the spike.
KRAFTON, the publisher, reported record second-quarter results on July 29, 2026. Sales rose 94.9% year-on-year to 1.2902 trillion won, with PC platform sales up 155.1%, driven by both the PUBG IP and Subnautica 2. The company announced plans to exhibit five new titles at gamescom 2026, signaling an effort to build franchises beyond PUBG and Subnautica.
A legal dispute between KRAFTON and developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment over a $250 million bonus was fully settled in July 2026. Under the settlement, bonuses will be paid to all employees, and CEO Ted Gill stepped down amicably. At gamescom 2026, creative director Anthony Gallegos outlined the team's 'Rule of Thirds' development guideline, a balance of familiar feel, modern improvements, and new ambition. Unknown Worlds released a roadmap covering the first months of early access, with version 1.1 focused on quality-of-life, version 1.2 on cooperative multiplayer, and later versions adding biomes and story content.
Key facts
- Early access launch date
- May 15, 2026 ↗
- Cumulative sales in 22 days
- Over 5 million ↗
- Steam rating
- 'Very Positive' from over 113,700 reviews, 91% positive ↗
- Early access duration
- Expected to last 2 to 3 years ↗
- Legal settlement
- KRAFTON and Unknown Worlds settled a $250 million bonus dispute; bonuses paid to all employees ↗
- CEO change
- Ted Gill stepped down amicably ↗
- Development guideline
- 'Rule of Thirds': one-third familiar feel, one-third modern improvements, one-third new ambition ↗
- Original game player peak
- 51,446 concurrent players, surpassing the 2018 record of 51,156 ↗
- Steam PvE Survival Craft Fest inclusion
- Subnautica featured among 15 titles in the September 2026 sale ↗
Timeline
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Noted
- featured in Steam PvE Survival Craft Fest · 2026-09-01
- Noted
- reached a new all-time high of 51,446 concurrent players on Steam around May 25 · 2026-05-27
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/subnautica.
CC BY 4.0.
All coverage
Sep 1
Valve opened the Steam PvE Survival Craft Fest on September 1, 2026, a themed sale running until September 8 at 2:00. The event gathers survival and crafting games whose challenge comes from the environment and in-game enemies rather than other players; multiplayer works qualify when they fight the world instead of each other. The official trailer spotlights 15 titles, among them Medieval Dynasty, Project Zomboid, The Alters, Subnautica, and Abiotic Factor, with the full lineup also including The Long Dark, The Forest, Raft, Sunkenland, Terraria, No Man's Sky, The Planet Crafter, ASTRONEER, The Riftbreaker, and SCUM. The special page carries discounts on eligible titles, upcoming releases, and playable demos. Game Spark separately flagged several titles at their lowest recorded prices, including Smalland: Survive the Wilds, VEIN, Romestead, Cubic Odyssey, PixARK, and Everwind. Most of the trailer lineup supports Japanese; Terraria and SCUM do not.
Aug 28
At gamescom 2026, Subnautica 2 creative director Anthony Gallegos detailed the team's 'Rule of Thirds' development guideline: one-third familiar feel, one-third modern improvements, and one-third new ambition. Early development leaned too heavily into new elements, causing 'Sequelitis,' a wavering development axis driven by conflicting desires to make the game different, bigger, and familiar.
Aug 2
KRAFTON reported its consolidated results for the second quarter of 2026 on July 29, with sales of 1.2902 trillion won (about 147.86 billion yen), up 94.9% year-on-year, and operating profit of about 47.09 billion yen, up 67.0%. Both figures set records for a second quarter. The PC platform led growth, with sales up 155.1% year-on-year, driven by the PUBG IP and Subnautica 2, which entered early access in May 2026. Subnautica 2 surpassed 5 million cumulative sales in 22 days since early access launch, and on Steam it holds a 'Very Positive' rating from over 113,700 user reviews, 91% of which are positive. PUBG franchise sales rose 25% year-on-year in Q2, with modes like Xeno Point and PAYDAY improving user engagement. For the second half of 2026, KRAFTON plans to expand collaborations with global animation IPs, following automotive and K-POP brands. The company also announced it will exhibit five new titles targeting release by 2027 at gamescom 2026 in August, including an unannounced PUBG IP project, NO LAW, Project ZETA, Age Twisters, and TARAE: The Unbound.
Jul 2
Krafton and Unknown Worlds Entertainment have fully settled their legal dispute over a $250 million bonus. Under the settlement, bonuses will be paid to all employees, and CEO Ted Gill will step down amicably. The game has sold over 4 million copies since its early access launch in May 2026.
Jun 21
Developer Unknown Worlds has released the development roadmap for Subnautica 2, which entered early access on May 15. The early access period is expected to last 2 to 3 years. The roadmap covers the first few months, with version 1.1 focused on quality-of-life improvements, version 1.2 addressing cooperative online multiplayer requests, and later versions adding new biomes and story content. A feedback voting page has also been opened.
May 27
The original Subnautica reached a new all-time high of 51,446 concurrent players on Steam around May 25, surpassing its previous record of 51,156 set at the 2018 full release. The surge follows the May 15 early access launch of Subnautica 2, which attracted over 460,000 players and generated an estimated $100 million in its first week. A 75% discount on the original game also contributed to the spike.