Subnautica 2 Is Off To A Massive Start

Subnautica 2 has been out for less than a day, and yet it’s already attracted a massive number of players.

Unknown Worlds Entertainment launched Subnautica 2 on Steam and Xbox Series X|S at 11 AM ET, May 14. There was a ton of interest right out of the gate, and a look at Steam’s most-played games shows some eye-watering concurrent player count stats. It attracted hundreds of thousands of concurrent players on Steam almost immediately, peaking at 467,582. According to Unknown Worlds, combined concurrents on Steam, Epic, and Xbox topped 651,000.

That dwarfs the launches of other hit Steam games this year, like Windrose. Subnautica 2 was the most-wishlisted game on Steam prior to its launch, and it’s clear that those wishlists are converting into sales.

The game’s developer already confirmed that more than 1 million copies had been sold within an hour of launch. After 12 hours, that number has eclipsed two million copies.

This successful launch also comes after a very tumultuous final year of development. In July 2025, Unknown Worlds’ parent company, Krafton, forcibly delayed the game into 2025 and tried to oust the developer’s founders from the company. This led to a lawsuit that ultimately resulted in the founders being reinstated. Krafton is still involved in the project, but it is no longer listed as the publisher on Steam.

Subnautica 2 is now available as an early-access game on PC and Xbox Series X|S, with its Steam store page estimating the game will remain in Early Access for “about 2 to 3 years.”

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