Subnautica 2‘s first major Early Access update has officially arrived, and it’s doing more than just adding new content. Developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment (UWE) has released the game’s first community-driven update while confirming another major milestone: Subnautica 2 has now surpassed 5 million copies sold less than a month after launching in Early Access.
Selling 5 million copies is a significant moment for any game, but it’s especially potent for Subnautica 2. After months of legal battles over a $250 million bonus between UWE and publisher Krafton, the latter agreed to a settlement that will pay bonuses to every employee at Unknown Worlds, including staff who joined after the studio’s 2021 acquisition. At the same time, CEO Ted Gill has stepped down, saying both sides mutually agreed that new leadership was the best path forward, ending the long-running controversy around Subnautica 2.
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Unknown Worlds says the first Early Access update is heavily based on player feedback, refining several of the game’s core systems while expanding exploration and progression. The biggest additions in this Subnautica 2 update are two new Biolabs, Coral Gardens and Axum Ruins, as well as an increase to Biomods from 4 to 6. Furthermore, players can also unlock new additional passive Biomod slots in Subnautica 2 by scanning creatures with the Bioscanner.
- New Biolabs: Coral Gardens and Axum Ruins.
- Biomods has increased from 4 to 6.
- Players can now unlock additional passive Biomod slots by scanning creatures with the Bioscanner.
Scratch & Peek
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.
The update also makes several quality-of-life improvements, particularly for Subnautica 2‘s co-op features. Audio logs no longer play automatically when picked up and can instead be accessed manually through the PDA Databank, preventing one player’s discoveries from interrupting everyone else’s session, among other things. Elsewhere, Unknown Worlds has added more routes and oxygen-based puzzles to wrecks, allowed players to sprint while outside the water, improved building placement for several structures, introduced a dedicated storage building, and made additional improvements to creature behavior, rendering, and the user interface.
According to Executive Producer Fernando Melo, the team’s goal with this update was to improve the opening hours and strengthen the game’s core systems before continuing to expand the experience. He said Unknown Worlds plans to keep developing Subnautica 2 alongside its community throughout Early Access, with player feedback continuing to shape future updates.
What’s That Weapon?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
The milestone highlights just how quickly Subnautica 2 has become one of 2026’s biggest survival games. If this first update is any indication, the studio intends to use Early Access exactly as promised—adding meaningful new content while steadily refining nearly every aspect of the survival experience before the game’s full release—while ensuring fan feedback is accounted for every step of the way.
- Released
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May 14, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Language, Fantasy Violence
