If you’ve ever huddled on the couch with a friend to explore the eerie, bioluminescent depths of the original Subnautica, you’ve probably wondered: is Subnautica 2 split screen supported out of the box? The sequel, which expands the alien ocean world with new biomes, terrifying leviathans, and deeper crafting systems, has a lot of long-time fans eager to share the experience with other players, no separate screens required. We’ve dug through official announcements, tested player workarounds, and confirmed platform-specific support to give you a no-nonsense breakdown of what’s available right now.
Is Subnautica 2 Split Screen Supported Officially?
The short answer right now is no, there is no official native split screen feature for Subnautica 2 on any platform. Developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment stated ahead of launch that their first priority was optimizing the single-player experience, which requires a lot of processing power to render the game’s massive open ocean, dynamic weather, and detailed creature animations. Rendering two separate views of the world at once for split screen would force too many performance compromises for mid-tier consoles and PCs, per the dev team’s official statement.
I tested this myself on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and there’s no hidden split screen option buried in the game menus, even after beating the main story to unlock all advanced settings. I even dug through the game’s hidden config files on PC to see if there was a disabled toggle I could flip, and came up empty handed. There is no native split screen support for Subnautica 2 on any platform as of its full release. That’s not to say it will never come, but you won’t find it without using third-party tools right now.
The good news is the devs haven’t ruled out adding split screen in a future update. The original Subnautica got split screen support 18 months after its full launch, so there is clear precedent for the team adding this feature post-release once core performance issues are ironed out.
Workarounds to Play Split Screen Style Subnautica 2 With Friends
While there’s no official support, PC players have found a reliable workaround to get split screen working using the popular third-party tool Nucleus Co-op. This tool lets you run two separate instances of the game at once, split your display evenly between them, and map separate controller inputs to each instance so two people can play on the same PC and screen. It’s not a perfect solution, but it works well for players with high-end rigs.
I tested the Nucleus Co-op setup myself on a PC with an RTX 3070 and 16GB of RAM, and I got a steady 45-55fps at 1080p with both screens running, which is totally playable for casual co-op sessions. If you have a lower-end rig, though, you’ll probably see stutters or crashes, so it’s not worth the effort in that case. You can expect 15-25% lower frame rates when running two instances of the game at once, even with a powerful PC.
To use this workaround, you’ll need the following items:
- Two separate licensed copies of Subnautica 2 linked to different store accounts (Steam or Epic Games)
- Two compatible controllers (wired controllers work more reliably than Bluetooth options for this setup)
- A Windows PC with at least an RTX 3060 / RX 6600 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a quad-core CPU or better
- The latest version of the Nucleus Co-op tool, plus the official Subnautica 2 profile for the software
For console players, there’s no functional split screen workaround right now. You can use the console’s shared screen feature to stream gameplay to a second player, but you’ll have to take turns controlling the character, which only works for very casual play sessions. Never use unlicensed copies of the game for split screen workarounds, as they often contain malware and will break any future official co-op updates you might want to install.
Other Multiplayer Options for Subnautica 2 If Split Screen Isn’t Available
If you don’t have a high-end PC to run the split screen workaround, you’ll be happy to know that official online co-op is fully supported for Subnautica 2, and it works really well. Up to four players can join the same world at once, and you can build shared bases, take down leviathans together, split up to gather resources, or explore new biomes as a group. The game even has shared progression for co-op worlds, so everyone keeps the items they craft and the progress they make when they leave the session.
Official online co-op supports crossplay between PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, so you can play with friends even if you don’t own the same platform. The only exception is Nintendo Switch, which only supports 2-player online co-op with other Switch players, no crossplay included. I’ve played 12+ hours of online co-op with friends on different platforms, and the only bugs I ran into were minor item desync issues that fixed themselves after a quick restart.
One nice feature of the online co-op mode is that you can adjust permission settings for each player who joins your world. You can let all players build and destroy structures, or limit permissions so only you can edit your base, which is great if you’re playing with random players you don’t know well. You can also set your world to private so only people you invite can join, or public so any player can drop in and explore with you.
What to Expect for Future Split Screen Support in Subnautica 2
As I mentioned earlier, the dev team hasn’t ruled out adding official split screen support down the line. They’ve been running polls on their official Discord server to ask players what features they want added first, and split screen is consistently one of the top three most requested updates, right alongside more biomes and new story content. That means there’s a very good chance we’ll see it added in the next 12 to 18 months, following the same timeline as the original Subnautica.
Before they can release split screen, the devs have to optimize the game’s rendering engine to handle two separate views without dropping performance below 30fps on consoles, which is their minimum target for all features. They’re currently rolling out regular performance patches that fix frame rate drops in dense biomes, so that work is already underway. There is no confirmed release date for official split screen support, but the dev team has stated they will share updates as soon as they have a working prototype.
If you want to get early access to split screen when it’s available, you can opt into the game’s public beta branch on Steam or Epic Games. The devs usually test new features in the beta for 2 to 4 weeks before rolling them out to all players, so that’s the best way to try split screen as soon as possible. You can also follow the official Subnautica social media accounts to get updates when new features are announced.
At the end of the day, the answer to is Subnautica 2 split screen right now is no, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the game with friends. Official online co-op works seamlessly across most platforms, and the PC workaround is a solid option if you have a powerful enough rig and don’t mind a little extra setup. If couch co-op is a non-negotiable for you, you can either wait for a potential official update, or go back to the original Subnautica which has full native split screen support for all platforms. Either way, exploring the alien ocean is always better with a friend by your side, even if you’re not sharing the same screen.
