The survival hit “Subnautica 2” is making a historic rocket start, but for now leaves PlayStation players completely in the dark as they search for the release date.
Developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment has released the official sales figures for the recently launched Early Access phase. The four million unit mark was surpassed within just five days of release.
One million copies of “Subnautics 2“It was already flying off the shelves in the very first hour, and after twelve hours the counter had reached two million. These figures are absolutely unprecedented for an unfinished survival game. They show just how gigantic the community's hunger was for new deep-sea content.”
Taking the plunge pays off.
The astronomical sales figures are surprising despite the enormous popularity of its predecessor. The studio was embroiled for months in protracted legal disputes between the studio founders and the publisher Krafton. This unsettled many fans beforehand. The courage to release the game into Early Access on May 14th, despite the internal turmoil and with a short announcement period of only two weeks, has completely paid off.
A key driver of this surge in popularity is the technical and gameplay evolution. Unknown Worlds has completely revamped its core framework. The switch to Unreal Engine 5 results in significantly more realistic underwater lighting effects and a noticeably denser atmosphere. The draw distances and particle effects in the deep trenches appear extremely menacing compared to the first Subnautica.
Added to this is the community's most requested feature: an optional co-op mode for up to four players. While this breaks the classic, paranoid solitude of the original game, it attracts masses of new player groups who want to map the ocean together. The hit feedback for tools and the physics of the vehicles already mesh well at this early stage, even if, according to the Steam description, the amount of content still falls far short of its finished predecessor.
Why the PS5 is missing out for now
While PC and Xbox players are already diving in, PS5 owners are left out in the cold. The studio confirmed via Discord that there is currently no news regarding a PlayStation version.
The reason for this lies in Sony's platform policy. Unlike Steam's Early Access or the Xbox Game Preview program, the PlayStation Network doesn't offer a permanent, open ecosystem for unfinished titles. While Sony occasionally allows closed betas, it shies away from the regular sale of alpha software. Since Unknown Worlds is planned with an Early Access period of two to three years, a PS5 version is unlikely to be realistic until the final release version 1.0 sometime in 2028 or 2029.
What do you think of the co-op approach in Subnautica 2 – does it eliminate the real fear of the deep sea, or does exploring together make the tedious early access wait more bearable?
