Independent Subnautica 2 wiki tracking every confirmed creature, vehicle, biome, base part and dev log from Unknown Worlds. Early Access on PC, Xbox Series and Game Pass on May 14, 2026.
Field Manual
May 2026 · Latest News
Three drops from Unknown Worlds in the final stretch: the gameplay trailer, the First Dive Showcase, and a community thank you for hitting 5 million wishlists.
Unknown Worlds confirmed the wishlist counter crossed five million across PC and Xbox. Every player on every platform unlocks the Reaper Leviathan Statue blueprint as a permanent in-game item, not a launch-week giveaway. Original announcement: a 12-second Subnautica community Short.
Subnautica 2 is now available for pre-purchase at 29,99€ on Steam, Epic and Xbox Series X|S. Steam users can pre-load the build, and a Subnautica Deep Ocean Bundle stacks Subnautica 1 and Below Zero with the new release at a 50% loyalty discount.
Unknown Worlds streamed a near three-hour First Dive Showcase featuring guest PointCrow. The session debuted the Early Access Gameplay Trailer, walked through new biomes and the Tadpole submersible, and confirmed Day One on Xbox Game Pass.
Unlock Times · May 14, 2026
Steam, Epic and Xbox all unlock at the same moment worldwide: 15:00 UTC on May 14, 2026. Steam Asia and Oceania regions wake up to a May 15 unlock.
| Region | Timezone | Unlock time | Local date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, Vancouver | PDT · UTC-7 | 08:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Denver, Phoenix | MDT · UTC-6 | 09:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Chicago, Mexico City | CDT · UTC-5 | 10:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| New York, Toronto | EDT · UTC-4 | 11:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| São Paulo, Buenos Aires | BRT · UTC-3 | 12:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| London, Lisbon, Dublin | BST · UTC+1 | 16:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Paris, Berlin, Madrid | CEST · UTC+2 | 17:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Athens, Istanbul, Kyiv | EEST · UTC+3 | 18:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Dubai, Abu Dhabi | GST · UTC+4 | 19:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Mumbai, New Delhi | IST · UTC+5:30 | 20:30 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Bangkok, Jakarta | ICT · UTC+7 | 22:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Beijing, Singapore, Manila | CST · UTC+8 | 23:00 | Thu, May 14 2026 |
| Tokyo, Seoul | JST · UTC+9 | 00:00 | Fri, May 15 2026 |
| Sydney, Melbourne | AEST · UTC+10 | 01:00 | Fri, May 15 2026 |
| Auckland, Wellington | NZST · UTC+12 | 03:00 | Fri, May 15 2026 |
Source: Unknown Worlds confirmed the global unlock window in the Subnautica 2 Cinematic Trailer description on April 30, 2026, then again in the First Dive Showcase on May 9, 2026. Steam region locks are tied to the same UTC moment. Xbox Game Pass unlocks alongside the standard edition at 15:00 UTC.
Featured Trailer
Premiered May 9, 2026 at the First Dive Showcase. The Tadpole submersible, multiplayer dives and the CICADA storyline in 1:38.
Sets up the premise on camera. Alterra ships the Pioneers off-world aboard the colony vessel CICADA, the on-board AI overrides the destination, and the survivors land on an alien ocean planet with one job: stay alive long enough to find out why.
Release Dossier
The Story
A grounded summary of the sequel, sourced from Unknown Worlds' own blog posts, dev vlogs and the Steam product page.
Conflict pushes humanity off-world. Alterra answers with a new offer: passage on the colony ship CICADA to a fresh start on an uncharted ocean moon. Mid-voyage the ship's AI overrides its handlers and insists the mission must continue at any cost. The Pioneers wake up stranded on a world that may not want them there.
The setting is brand new. Subnautica 2 takes place after both Subnautica: Below Zero and the Natural Selection chapter of the studio's broader timeline. No characters, locations, creatures or vehicles return from the previous games. Unknown Worlds has been explicit that the cast, ecosystem and tone are all built from scratch.
Long-forgotten ruins on the seabed hint that the Pioneers are not the first arrivals here. Decoding why the AI is so determined to keep going is the spine of the Early Access narrative.
Subnautica 2 keeps the survival rhythm that defined the franchise. Surface for oxygen, dive for resources, scan everything alive (and most things that are not), then carry it back to a base you customise on the seabed. The Tadpole submersible is the starter craft for venturing past the shallows. More vehicles and modules unlock through Early Access updates.
Co-op is optional. Up to four players share one ocean with drop-in, drop-out joining and cross-platform play between PC and Xbox Series. There is no PvP, no battle pass, no microtransactions, no subscription, no generative AI involved in development, and there are no plans for VR support.
Pick from four pre-designed Pioneer characters at Early Access launch, with more character options and customisation rolling in over the next two to three years of updates.
Game Data
Steam page intel: tags, accessibility, Steam Deck rating, cross-platform support, language coverage.
Steam tags
Platform features
Accessibility (11 features)
Languages with full audio
Languages with subtitles
Confirmed bundle
Lineage
42 fully-rendered creatures shipped in the original. Sub 2 inherits this design DNA on a new planet.
Hardware
Posted by Unknown Worlds on Steam alongside the release date.
Answers
Subnautica 2 enters Early Access on May 14, 2026 at 08:00 PDT / 15:00 UTC. Unknown Worlds locked the date in the Cinematic Trailer published April 30, 2026, after first announcing the 2026 window alongside the Take a Deep Breath gameplay reveal in July 2025.
All platforms unlock at the same UTC moment, 15:00 on May 14, 2026. That works out to 08:00 PDT in Los Angeles, 11:00 EDT in New York, 16:00 BST in London, 17:00 CEST in Berlin, 18:00 EEST in Athens, 20:30 IST in New Delhi and 23:00 in Singapore. Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland tick over to May 15 at 00:00 JST, 01:00 AEST and 03:00 NZST.
Pre-purchase is 29,99€ on Steam, Epic Games Store and Xbox. Steam users can already pre-load the build. Unknown Worlds has confirmed the price will go up after Early Access ends, so the pre-purchase price is effectively the lowest the game will ever be.
Yes. Subnautica 2 launches Day One on Xbox Game Pass, confirmed in the First Dive Showcase on May 9, 2026. The Game Pass version is the full Early Access build, not a limited trial.
Just own the game. Unknown Worlds promised the Reaper Leviathan Statue blueprint to every player on every platform as a thank you for hitting 5 million wishlists. It is not gated to a launch window, you can claim it any time after starting the game.
Yes. Up to four players in the same world with drop-in, drop-out co-op and cross-platform support between PC and Xbox Series. There is no PvP. Solo play is fully supported and the campaign is balanced to be playable alone.
On a brand new alien ocean world. The Alterra corporation ships a group of Pioneers off-world aboard the colony vessel CICADA. When the ship's AI insists on continuing its own agenda, you and the rest of the crew end up stranded on the planet below.
PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, plus Xbox Series X|S at Early Access launch. Subnautica 2 is Steam Deck Verified on day one. There is no PlayStation or Nintendo Switch version announced. The original Subnautica added PS4 and Switch later, so more platforms remain possible after 1.0.
Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero. Unknown Worlds is also publishing under its own banner, with Krafton listed as franchise partner. The team is fully remote, spanning the US, UK, France and Australia.
No. Unknown Worlds has confirmed that characters, locations, creatures and vehicles from Subnautica and Below Zero will not return. Subnautica 2 is a clean slate set on a different planet, with a new cast and a new ecosystem.
Unknown Worlds estimates roughly two to three years, mirroring how Subnautica 1 and Below Zero were developed. New biomes, creatures, craftables, narrative beats and quality fixes will land in regular updates throughout that window.
No public demo or beta has been announced. The first time anyone outside Unknown Worlds plays the game is at Early Access launch on May 14, 2026. Pre-purchase or wishlist if you want a launch-day reminder.
No to all three. Unknown Worlds has stated there are no plans for VR support, no battle passes or microtransactions, and no generative AI used in development. The studio is sticking to its earned, premium model.
Eleven languages at Early Access, with English receiving full voice audio. German, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish are all confirmed with interface and subtitle support. Additional language coverage is planned through the Early Access run.
Unreal Engine 5, a generational leap from Subnautica 1's Unity build. Expect Lumen-style lighting, denser biomes, and the kind of fidelity that lets a single rendered Leviathan carry a whole dev vlog.
