I’ve sunk well over 200 hours into the Subnautica franchise across the original 2014 release and the 2021 Below Zero standalone expansion, and there’s one question I see pop up in every fan forum, Reddit thread, and Discord server I visit: is there a Subnautica 2? For years, the answer was murky, as developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment focused on post-launch support for Below Zero and other side projects. But recent official announcements and leaked details have given fans a much clearer picture of what’s next for the beloved underwater survival series. This guide breaks down all confirmed and rumored info, so you don’t have to dig through random social media posts to find answers.
Is There a Subnautica 2? Official Confirmation Details
Let’s cut straight to the most common question first. For years, many fans wondered if Below Zero counted as the second mainline Subnautica game, but Below Zero is not considered Subnautica 2 by the development team. It was always designed as a smaller, standalone expansion that explored a different part of 4546B, with a shorter runtime and tighter focus on Arctic biomes. The team confirmed multiple times that they were holding off on a full sequel until they had a concept that felt worthy of the Subnautica name.
Back in 2023, job listings posted by Unknown Worlds first tipped off fans that a new mainline Subnautica project was in the works, with openings for level designers, narrative writers, and systems programmers all referencing the Subnautica franchise. Then in late 2024, the studio officially confirmed during a developer Q&A that the next mainline Subnautica game is in active development as of 2024, and it will serve as the official follow-up to the original 2014 release. They haven’t shared an official title yet, so most fans are just calling it Subnautica 2 for now.
They also clarified that the game is still in the early stages of development, so there’s no confirmed release date, platform list, or price point available yet. Any listings you see on retailer sites right now are either placeholder or fake, so don’t waste your money pre-ordering from unvetted sources.
Rumored Gameplay Features for the Next Mainline Subnautica Game
Even though official details are scarce, leaks from credible industry insiders and hints dropped by the dev team over the years have given us a good idea of what to expect from Subnautica 2. The team has repeatedly said they want to keep the core survival loop that made the original game so popular: exploring uncharted biomes, scanning flora and fauna, crafting gear, and building bases, while adding new features that address longstanding fan complaints.
Some of the most widely rumored and requested features that the devs have publicly acknowledged include:
- Fully supported 4-player co-op, a top requested feature for over 7 years, with both public and private server options
- Twice the playable map size of the original Subnautica, with both deep ocean biomes and large, explorable surface island regions that have their own unique threats and resources
- New creature AI that adapts to player behavior over the course of a playthrough, so aggressive creatures will learn to avoid players that fight back, and passive creatures will flee if they see you harm other members of their species
- More crafting customization options, including modular base building with underwater and above-water components, and customizable vehicle upgrades that let you tailor your Seamoth or Prawn Suit to your playstyle
Insiders have also claimed that co-op functionality is almost guaranteed to be included in the next release, as the dev team has spent years building netcode that works for large open-world underwater environments. They’ve also mentioned that the game will use a modified version of the Unity engine for better performance across all platforms, so you won’t have to deal with the frame rate drops that were common in the original game when exploring large biomes with lots of creatures.
That said, the team has also warned that they won’t add features just for the sake of adding them. If co-op doesn’t work well with the core survival experience they want to build, they might scale it back or cut it entirely, though that seems unlikely at this point.
Story Hints and Timeline Clues We Know So Far
One of the biggest draws of the Subnautica franchise is its surprisingly deep lore, centered on the ancient alien Architect civilization, the deadly Kharaa bacterium, and the corrupt Alterra corporation. The team has said that Subnautica 2 will expand on that lore significantly, while still being accessible to new players who haven’t played the first two games.
The biggest confirmed story detail so far is that the next game will not revisit 4546B, the setting of both prior Subnautica titles. Instead, it will take place on a completely new ocean planet, with a new protagonist who has no connection to Ryley Robinson or Robin Ayou, the leads of the first two games. The story will follow the protagonist as they crash land on the planet, and uncover a decades-old secret involving the Architects and a previously unknown Alterra research mission.
For fans who loved the deep lore of the first two games, the devs have confirmed that there will be plenty of Easter eggs referencing prior events, including hints about what happened to Ryley after he left 4546B, and what the Architect civilization has been up to since the events of Below Zero. They’ve also said that the story will have multiple endings, depending on the choices you make throughout the game, which is a first for the franchise.
I’m personally most excited to see them explore the Architect home world that was teased at the end of Below Zero. There’s so much untapped potential in that part of the lore, and it would be cool to see how their society works beyond the small outposts we saw on 4546B.
What Fans Can Do While Waiting for Subnautica 2 to Launch
Since Subnautica 2 is still at least a couple of years away from launch, you probably have a lot of time to kill if you’re hyped for the new game. There are plenty of ways to get your Subnautica fix in the meantime, and even help shape the development of the new game if you want to.
If you’ve already played through the original and Below Zero multiple times, you can try out some of the amazing community-made mods that add hundreds of hours of new content. Mods like Return of the Ancients add entirely new biomes, creatures, and storylines to the original game, and many of them are polished enough to feel like official expansions. You can also join the official Subnautica Discord server, where the devs regularly post polls and ask for feedback on new features they’re considering for the next game.
One important thing to remember as you wait for more news: Never pre-order Subnautica 2 from unconfirmed retailers, as no official release window has been shared publicly. A lot of scam sites will put up fake pre-order listings to take advantage of excited fans, and you won’t get your money back if the listing turns out to be fake. Stick to official announcements from Unknown Worlds or their publisher, Krafton, for all confirmed news.
If you want to support the team in the meantime, you can buy copies of the original games for friends who haven’t played them yet, or pick up some official merch from the Subnautica store. Every bit of support helps the team keep working on the next game.
At the end of the day, the answer to is there a Subnautica 2 is a resounding yes, and it’s shaping up to be everything fans have been asking for over the last decade. The team is taking their time to make sure it lives up to the high bar set by the original, so we likely won’t see it launch for at least another two years, but the wait will almost certainly be worth it. We’ll update this post as soon as new official details drop, so check back regularly for the latest news on the next entry in the best underwater survival franchise of all time.
