After years of development and behind-the-scenes controversy, Subnautica 2 from developer Unknown Worlds is out now in early access. If you’re curious about the game but don’t have an Xbox or a PC powerful enough, there is another way to play it–by streaming it to a device you already own via Nvidia GeForce now or Microsoft’s cloud gaming service.
For GeForce Now, you still have to buy the game and then subscribe to the service to play it. There is a free tier of the service, but it limits you to one-hour sessions, has ads, caps you at 1080p/60fps, and streams from a “basic” rig. Alternatively, you can pay $10/month for no ads and streaming from a GeForce RTX rig with six-hour sessions and up to 1440p/60fps. There is also an Ultimate tier of GeForce Now ($20/month) that has no ads, eight-hour sessions, and up to 5K/360fps.
Go to the GeForce Now website to learn more.
Alternatively, Subnautica 2 is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($23/month) and that includes cloud streaming support, allowing you to beam the game to your computer, phone, tablet, or an older Xbox. There are no time limits for Game Pass Ultimate members, and the streaming quality goes up to 1440p/60fps. Like the PC edition, Subnautica 2 on Xbox represents an in-development version of the game in Microsoft’s Game Preview program.
Subnautica 2 is not available on PlayStation 5, nor has the game been announced for Sony’s platform. It may eventually come to PS5, as the 2018 game landed on PS4 and later PS5, while 2021’s Subnautica: Below Zero came to those platforms as well. There is no version of Subnautica 2 for Switch or Switch 2.
Subnautica 2 is having a banger of a start on Steam, as the game is currently Steam’s No. 1 best-selling game and its No. 3 overall most-played game currently, with more than 440,000 concurrent users. The game is also available on the Epic Games Store, along with Xbox, so it’s no doubt reaching many more people.
It’s still early, but Subnautica already has a “Very Positive” aggregate rating on Steam from more than 1,800 user reviews. There is no word yet on when the game’s 1.0 release may come, however.
Regarding the controversy surrounding the game, Unknown Worlds and owner Krafton were embroiled in a legal battle regarding, among other things, a huge bonus payment for senior executives at Unknown Worlds. As part of this, Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill was ousted, but a court ruling later forced Krafton to reinstate Gill and allow Unknown Worlds to go ahead with releasing the game on its schedule.
If you’re just getting started with Subnautica 2, be sure to consult some of GameSpot’s Subnautica 2 guides.