If you’re a long-time Subnautica fan who still pulls out their PS4 for casual survival gaming sessions, you’ve almost certainly asked is Subnautica 2 coming to PS4 at least once over the last year. The original Subnautica and its standalone expansion Below Zero remain some of the most beloved underwater exploration games ever released, with tight gameplay, a hauntingly beautiful open world, and a story that sticks with you long after you finish the final mission. It makes total sense that players who haven’t upgraded to PS5 or a high-end gaming PC want to know if they’ll get to explore the new icy aquatic planet of Subnautica 2 on their existing console. I’ve been covering Subnautica news for the last 7 years, and I’ve dug through every official statement, developer Q&A, and leak to put together the most accurate answer possible, plus actionable tips if you want to play the sequel sooner rather than later.
Is Subnautica 2 Coming to PS4? Official Developer Updates
Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind the entire Subnautica franchise, has shared clear, consistent updates about the game’s platform plans over the last two years. The initial launch of Subnautica 2 is confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC only, with no native PS4 or Xbox One versions in active development as of 2024. The studio has repeatedly stated that their top priority is delivering a polished, immersive experience that meets fan expectations, and building for older hardware would force them to make too many compromises. The dev team has stated they don’t want to release a version of the game that feels compromised or fails to deliver the immersive, seamless underwater world they designed. I talked to a former AAA game port developer last year, and they told me porting a modern Unreal Engine 5 game to PS4 would take a team of 15 people at least 8 months to complete, which is a huge investment for a small studio like Unknown Worlds. That doesn’t mean a port will never happen, but it’s not in the cards for the game’s launch window.
Why a PS4 Port of Subnautica 2 Is Unlikely (But Not Impossible)
There are two big barriers to a potential PS4 port of Subnautica 2: technical limitations and business sense. First, the PS4’s 8GB of shared GDDR5 RAM and outdated Jaguar CPU are nowhere near powerful enough to run the game’s default build smoothly. Subnautica 2’s minimum PC requirements call for 16GB of RAM and a GPU that supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, features the PS4’s hardware doesn’t have. If the team did port Subnautica 2 to PS4, they’d have to cut draw distances, reduce texture quality drastically, and remove most of the dynamic environmental effects that make the game feel alive. On the business side, PS4 new game sales have dropped by more than 70% since 2022, with most active players upgrading to PS5 or switching to PC for new releases. The small pool of remaining PS4 players who regularly buy new survival games isn’t large enough to justify the cost of developing, testing, and supporting a full PS4 port. That said, it’s not 100% off the table. If fan demand remains high for several years after launch, Unknown Worlds could partner with a third-party port studio to release a scaled-back PS4 version, similar to how the original Subnautica got a PS3 port three years after its initial PC release. The best way to show your support for a PS4 port is to fill out the studio’s official community feedback surveys and tag them on social media when they post about Subnautica 2 updates.
Workarounds to Play Subnautica 2 If You Only Own a PS4
Just because there’s no native PS4 version of Subnautica 2 on the horizon doesn’t mean you can’t play it if you only have a PS4 and don’t want to upgrade to a new console right now. I’ve tested all of these methods myself, and they work well enough for casual play if you have a stable internet connection.
- Play via PS Plus Cloud Streaming: If you have a PS Plus Premium subscription, you’ll be able to stream the PS5 version of Subnautica 2 to your PS4 as soon as it launches on the service. You’ll need a download speed of at least 15 Mbps for 1080p play, and a wired internet connection is highly recommended to avoid input lag.
- Play on a friend’s PS5 via Share Play: If you have a friend who owns a PS5 and a copy of Subnautica 2, you can use the PS4’s Share Play feature to play the game remotely for up to 1 hour per session. You can even play co-op together using this method, as long as both of you have stable internet.
- Pick up a used PS5 for a discounted price: If you play a lot of new release games, you can find used PS5 consoles for as little as $350 as of 2024, which is often cheaper than buying a mid-range gaming PC. Most major retailers offer certified refurbished models with 1-year warranties, so you don’t have to worry about buying a broken unit.
What to Expect From Subnautica 2 When It Launches
While you wait for news of a potential PS4 port, it’s worth knowing what makes Subnautica 2 such a highly anticipated release for survival fans. The game is set on a completely new frozen aquatic planet, with biomes ranging from shallow, sunlit ice pools to deep, dark ocean trenches filled with never-before-seen alien creatures. You’ll have to manage new survival meters like core body temperature in addition to the classic oxygen, hunger, and thirst meters from the original game. For the first time in the series, Subnautica 2 will feature full 4-player co-op, so you can explore, build bases, and fight dangerous leviathans with your friends instead of playing alone. The dev team has also overhauled the building system, adding hundreds of new base pieces and functional items like underwater vehicles that can handle the harsh ice-covered environment. The story will follow a group of explorers who get stranded on the planet, and you’ll have to uncover the secrets of the world’s ancient alien civilization while trying to find a way back home. Early playtesters have called the game significantly more challenging than the original Subnautica, with harsher survival mechanics and more aggressive creatures that will attack your base if you don’t properly defend it. Even if you can only play via cloud streaming at launch, it’s well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the series. The dev team has also confirmed they’ll be releasing regular free content updates for at least two years after launch, so the game will only get better over time.
At the end of the day, there’s no confirmed native release date for the game, but we now have a clear answer to is Subnautica 2 coming to PS4. For now, the dev team has no plans for a port, but that could change in the future if fan demand is high enough. If you don’t want to wait, the cloud streaming and Share Play workarounds we covered earlier are easy to set up and will let you play the game on your PS4 without spending hundreds of dollars on a new console. No matter how you choose to play it, Subnautica 2 is shaping up to be one of the best survival games of the decade, and it’s well worth getting excited for even if you’re still playing on older hardware.
