There’s nothing quite like the thrills of exploring Subnautica’s alien ocean alone: the low hum of your Seamoth, the distant roar of a Reaper Leviathan, the rush of finding a rare diamond vein deep below the surface. But after you’ve beaten the main story a couple times, you might start wondering if you can bring a friend along for the ride. The first question most players ask is is subnautica 2 player, and whether you can share that tense, magical underwater world with someone else. I’ve tested every possible way to play Subnautica with friends over the past three years, and I’ll break down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to get the best experience possible.
Is Subnautica 2 Player by Default?
Let’s get the most straightforward answer out of the way first. There is no official, built-in 2 player or co-op mode for the base version of Subnautica or its sequel, Subnautica: Below Zero. Unknown Worlds, the studio behind the game, built the entire experience around single-player immersion from the start. The core theme of the game is surviving alone on a hostile alien planet, and adding multiplayer would have required rewriting huge parts of the game’s engine and story pacing.
The studio has stated multiple times that they have no plans to add official co-op to the original Subnautica. They did experiment with multiplayer features early in development, but found that it took away from the isolated, tense atmosphere that makes the game so beloved. That doesn’t mean you can’t play with a friend, though – you just have to use a few community-made tools or platform workarounds.
How to Play Subnautica in 2 Player Mode Unofficially
If you play Subnautica on PC, you have access to the most stable and full-featured 2 player option available. The most popular and reliable tool for co-op Subnautica play is the free, fan-made Nitrox mod. This mod has been in development for over six years, and it supports nearly all of the base game’s features, including base building, resource gathering, creature combat, and story progression for both players.
Before you install the Nitrox mod, there are a few key steps you need to take to avoid issues:
- Ensure both you and your friend own the exact same version of Subnautica on PC (the mod does not work for console, Mac, or Game Pass editions of the game)
- Back up all of your existing single-player save files to avoid accidental data loss if the mod conflicts with your existing installs
- Disable any other gameplay mods you have running first, as conflicting mods are the number one cause of crashes during 2 player sessions
Installing the mod only takes a few minutes. Both players need to download the Nitrox launcher, run the installer, and point it to their Subnautica game folder. One player hosts the server through the launcher, and the other joins using the host’s IP address. You won’t be able to unlock official Steam achievements while running the modded version of the game, so keep that in mind if you’re working through your achievement list.
It’s not a perfect experience. You might run into occasional sync bugs, like one player seeing a creature that doesn’t exist for the other, or resource deposits not respawning for both players. But from my personal experience, these bugs are rare, and most play sessions run completely smoothly for 4+ hours at a time. My roommate and I put 47 hours into a single 2 player save last year, and we only encountered three major crashes the entire run.
Alternate 2 Player Play Options for Console Users
If you play Subnautica on PS4, PS5, Xbox, or Switch, you won’t be able to use the Nitrox mod, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play with a friend. Console players can use platform-specific share play features to enjoy 2 player Subnautica sessions without any extra downloads.
For PlayStation users, you can use PS Share Play to stream your game to a friend’s console and give them full control of your character. You can take turns exploring, or one person can handle navigation and resource planning while the other drives the Seamoth or fights off hostile creatures. Xbox users have access to a similar feature called Xbox Cloud Gaming share play, and Switch users can use local or online screen sharing with friends if they have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
These share play options do have drawbacks. You’ll need a strong, stable internet connection to avoid lag, and you won’t have separate inventories or save files like you do with the Nitrox mod. But it’s a great option if you don’t have a PC, or if you just want to try playing with a friend without going through the mod installation process. I’ve used PS Share Play to play Subnautica with my cousin who lives across the country, and we had a great time even with the occasional lag spike when we were exploring the Lost River.
Top Tips for a Smooth 2 Player Subnautica Experience
No matter which method you use to play 2 player Subnautica, there are a few simple tips that will make your sessions way more fun and less frustrating. Assigning clear roles to each player cuts down on wasted time and prevents arguments over resource use. For example, one player can focus on gathering basic resources like titanium and copper, while the other explores deeper biomes for rare materials like lithium and diamonds.
You should also agree on a single base location early on. It’s really easy to waste dozens of resources building two separate bases when you could combine your materials to make one big, fully stocked base with all the crafting stations you need. If you’re using the Nitrox mod, save your game every 30 minutes or so, and make sure both players are in the same area when the host saves to avoid sync issues.
If you run into a sync bug while using Nitrox, a quick server restart will fix 90% of common issues. Most bugs happen when one player travels too far away from the other, or when both players interact with the same crafting station at the same time. If something feels off, just restart the server, and you’ll be back to exploring in under a minute.
One last tip: don’t forget to take time to just mess around. Some of my favorite 2 player Subnautica moments haven’t been about progressing the story. They’ve been about racing Seamoths around the safe shallows, pranking each other by throwing creepvine samples at each other, or panicking together when a Reaper Leviathan sneaks up on us while we’re gathering resources. You don’t have to rush to beat the game to have a good time.
At the end of the day, the answer to whether is subnautica 2 player officially is no, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an amazing time playing with a friend. PC players can use the Nitrox mod for a full, near-official co-op experience, and console players can use share play features to explore together with minimal setup. No matter which option you pick, bringing a friend along turns the tense, isolated world of Subnautica into a fun, collaborative adventure you’ll both remember for months.
