The underwater sandbox survival game will now be released significantly later and the postponement is said to have considerable financial consequences for the studio.
Subnautica 2 has long been the second most wanted game on Steam. Fans were actually looking forward to an Early Access release in 2025, but this has now come to nothing.
The game has been officially postponed just one week after the management team at developer Unknown Worlds was shown the door by publisher Krafton
Subnautica 2 will not be released until 2026
In an official statement from Unknown Worlds, it says that the findings from the initial tests have led to the postponement to the following year. The studio writes:
[The playtests have] also shown us that there are some areas we need to improve before we can present the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world. Our community is at the heart of our development, so we want to give ourselves a little more time to respond to feedback before we release the game in Early Access.
No specific date or time frame for the release will be given.
250 million dollar bonus
According to a report from Bloomberg Krafton is said to have promised the studio a bonus payment of 250 million US dollars if the studio reaches certain sales figures in 2025 .
Without the release of Subnautica 2 however, this is unlikely to be achieved. Last week, lead designer and director Charlie Cleveland, CEO Ted Gill and studio co-founder Max McGuire were forced to leave the studio.
According to Bloomberg, they and the management team at Unknown Worlds had planned to share the bonus with the studio’s 100 or so employees .
In a extensive Reddit post Charlie Cleveland explains that their dismissal was “a shock” and also opens up that Subnautica 2 was ready for release. This directly contradicts the studio’s statement under the leadership of the new CEO appointed by Krafton.
In a statement to PC Gamer Krafton assures that the postponement was not decided due to financial or contractual circumstances, but solely to ensure the quality of the game and guarantee the best possible experience for players. Cleveland, on the other hand, does not comment on the million-dollar bonus at any point. According to Krafton, the postponement had already been discussed before the dismissal of the three managers. Possible connections between the events are therefore pure speculation.