Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton has confirmed that the game’s anticipated early access launch will be delayed to 2026 following the controversial decision to oust the game’s previous leadership team. Although Krafton did not disclose its reasoning behind the Subnautica 2 developer shake-up, a report has shed some light on what was at stake if the game had remained on track for its previous 2025 launch.
On July 2, Krafton replaced the entire three-person leadership team behind Subnautica 2 and installed Steve Papoutsis as the new CEO of Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Papoutsis is also the current CEO of Striking Distance Studios, the developers behind The Callisto Protocol. In February 2025, Striking Distance underwent a wave of layoffs, though the studio remains an active Krafton subsidiary as of this writing. Papoutsis takes over for Ted Gill, Max McGuire, and Charlie Cleveland, who co-founded Unknown Worlds in 2001. Its first project was a mod for Half-Life called Natural Selection, which was released in 2002.
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While Subnautica 2’s ongoing development continues despite the leadership changes, Krafton stated that the game’s early access window will come later than anticipated. According to a report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier, Subnautica 2 has been delayed to 2025, and a $250 million bonus divided among all of Unknown Worlds’ staff would have been paid out by Krafton if the game hit specific criteria. By delaying Subnautica 2 into 2026, this would make Unknown Worlds unlikely to meet Krafton’s criteria. Ergo, the latter would not have to pay out the massive bonus.
Subnautica 2 Early Access Pushed Back to 2026
- Subnautica 2’s early access window has been pushed back to 2026.
- The move came after a report that a $250 million payout was on the line for reaching certain thresholds.
- The decision follows the replacement of the three-person leadership team at developer Unknown Worlds.
- Krafton has not commented on its decision to replace the previous Unknown Worlds leadership team.
The news followed Krafton’s statements concerning the leadership shake-up at Unknown Worlds. As Subnautica 2 fans took to social media to protest the leadership change and voice their concerns about the project’s future, Krafton stated that Subnautica 2 would remain free of microtransactions, battle passes, and loot boxes. Krafton reassured Subnautica fans that the rest of the development team at Unknown Worlds was unchanged. As it stands, Subnautica 2′s only online feature is co-op for up to four players.
Following the surprising leadership shakeup, Cleveland stated that Subnautica 2 was ready for early access release, and said that the launch is now in Krafton’s hands. Cleveland added that the move to oust him and the other Subnautica 2 leaders was a surprising move from Krafton. While Subnautica 2 is still on track to release in early access sometime in 2025 on PC and Xbox Series X/S, only time will tell what changes Papoutsis and Krafton will make ahead of launch.
Given that Subnautica 2 is being developed in Unreal Engine 5, the highly anticipated sequel remains an ambitious project. It remains to be seen when players will finally get their hands on Subnautica 2.
Subnautica 2
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
- Franchise
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Subnautica
- Number of Players
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1-4
- Early Access Release
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2025
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