Subnautica 2’s ‘Early Access 2.0’ Introduces New Frights, With No End to Early Access in Sight

Since its early access debut earlier this year, Unknown Worlds has rolled out several major updates for Subnautica 2, introducing features like a buddy system and, after some heated discussions, a way to defend against overly aggressive fish. Now, the team has unveiled the game’s most significant update to date, packed with content and dubbed Early Access 2.0.

In a video shared on Subnautica’s YouTube channel last week, Creative Director Anthony Gallegos described EA 2.0 as “the most substantial update we’ve done since release.” This update will bring a story expansion, new creatures, an entirely new region featuring five biomes, and a Tadpole chassis that adds arms and legs. Most notably, Gallegos referred to the new map addition as “one of our scariest regions we’ve ever done.” Yikes!

While no release window has been provided for Early Access 2.0, the vlog offers limited glimpses of the new content. However, Gallegos assured fans that more updates will come through a vlog series featuring discussions with other development team members.

The community seems largely excited about the news—the upcoming update’s content has been heavily influenced by player feedback and includes a long-requested round room base component, which is finally making a comeback.

On the flip side, some players are expressing frustration over the absence of a release date, suggesting that the full launch of the game may still be quite a ways off.

“Early access 2? Come on,” one Reddit user commented. “When did we start accepting this nonsense?”

It’s important to note that the Subnautica 2 Steam page indicates the game will remain in early access for about two to three years, so the original timeline isn’t being pushed back for EA 2.0. Many fans of the franchise still seem hesitant to jump into Subnautica 2, which is puzzling given how polished the game already is. Here’s hoping that EA 2.0 will be substantial enough to encourage these holdouts to finally take the plunge.