Subnautica 2 Devs Explain How Early Access Will Shape the Future

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Unknown Worlds, the team behind the upcoming Subnautica 2, is known for building strong relationships with its players. They’ve always involved the community in development, starting with Natural Selection 2, using early access as a way to collaborate with players. Now, with Subnautica 2 launching into early access on Xbox and PC on May 14th, they’re taking this approach to a new level. This time, they’re working with a larger audience, a more intricate game, and the expectations that come with a popular sequel.

TopMob interviewed Anthony Gallegos, Design Lead, and Scott MacDonald, Creative Media Producer, at Unknown Worlds to discuss their plans for Subnautica 2. They explained how player feedback – from suggestions to reactions to the story – will heavily influence the game’s development as it enters early access later this month.

Unknown Worlds Has a War Room Ready to Handle Early Access

Understandably, Unknown Worlds isn’t taking the early access launch of Subnautica 2 lightly, particularly after the game was delayed and the studio faced legal challenges with its publisher, Krafton. According to studio representative Gallegos, they’ve established a clear process for handling the expected influx of player feedback. This includes a dedicated team – jokingly referred to as a “war room” – designed to filter through the large volume of comments and turn them into useful improvements. Scott MacDonald and others will be central to this process, with Gallegos playing a supporting role.

I get a daily summary of information, similar to what the President receives, compiled by experts. Scott does the difficult work of collecting and analyzing opinions and data from a huge number of sources. He turns all that information into something we can actually use to make decisions. My job is the easier part – deciding what to do with what he provides.

I’ve been following the development closely, and it’s amazing to see how much attention the team is paying to the player base! They’re not just looking at what people want, but really listening to the volume and consistency of requests across all these different platforms – Reddit, Discord, and their own idea board, subnautica2.nolt.io. It’s like a public to-do list for the game, and apparently, one particular request is already getting a lot of traction. It’s exciting to see them prioritizing community feedback like this!

Right now, the feature people are requesting the most is proximity chat. It’s still uncertain if it will be successful, but there’s a lot of interest in it at the moment.

Having launched both Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero, Unknown Worlds clearly isn’t new to the early access game. As a result, they seem incredibly prepared for the initial chaos. What impressed me is how dialed-in their process is – they’ve got a really clear sense of what needs fixing right now versus what can wait. According to MacDonald, they’re using data to guide their decisions, prioritizing hotfixes first, then tackling feature requests, and bringing in the right team members at the right time. They know exactly which problems are emergencies and which ones can be addressed later, and that level of control is really encouraging to see.

Really Listening to Players Doesn’t Always Mean Doing What They Say

Unknown Worlds is known for involving its community in development, and they recently explained exactly how that works. It’s not about simply taking everyone’s ideas, but something more nuanced – a balance they’ve given a lot of thought to.

Players often request many different changes, or say they want something without fully explaining why. For example, they might say copper is too rare and suggest simply adding more of it everywhere. While that solves the immediate problem, it could create other issues that ultimately make the game less enjoyable. So, we focus on understanding the underlying need behind their feedback and then developing a thoughtful solution that truly improves the experience.

According to Gallegos, the team focuses less on simply doing what players ask and more on understanding why they’re asking. Player complaints are seen as signs of a deeper issue, and the team’s goal is to identify the root cause. It’s also crucial to explain the reasoning behind any changes, because clear communication helps players feel valued and understood, even if their exact suggestion isn’t implemented.

MacDonald shared two examples from the original Subnautica to show how player behavior influenced development. First, players were drawn to the Aurora shipwreck early in development, even venturing into dangerous, radioactive areas to explore it. Instead of discouraging this, the development team embraced it and built upon it.

We initially attempted to prevent players from accessing a certain area by adding radiation. However, that only motivated them to find a workaround. Ultimately, we decided to create a ship that would allow exploration of the area, and players really liked that. We also added radiation suits that players could craft, and that initial idea led to other helpful features we included in the game.

This is a good example of a feature that didn’t work out. Players asked for a more realistic water pressure system, one that would simulate decompression sickness (the bends) at deeper depths. While it seemed like a way to make the game more immersive, Unknown Worlds tried it and quickly realized it wasn’t enjoyable. As soon as they removed it, the game became much better.

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The process of trying new things, getting feedback, and then finalizing those ideas is happening right now with the limited number of players testing Subnautica 2. These long-time fans signed non-disclosure agreements and are providing the developers with early feedback before the wider public gets a chance to play. According to Gallegos, this testing group has been especially helpful in determining whether new features are actually working as intended, particularly those the development team was unsure about.

We sometimes release features we’re unsure about without immediately admitting our doubts. Then, when people use them, we listen for feedback like, ‘This could be better,’ and we’re actually happy to hear it! That kind of input is exactly what we need for features we’re not entirely confident in.

As Gallegos described it, this is a small example of what players can expect from the early access period – and it shows that Unknown Worlds is already getting valuable feedback on the sequel they’ve been planning, thanks to outside players.

Subnautica 2’s Story Will Grow With the Game

One of the trickiest issues for Unknown Worlds as they develop the game in early access isn’t about how things work – it’s about the story. The narrative in Subnautica is a huge reason why the game is so beloved; players who experienced it without spoilers are famously hesitant to share details. The studio really wants to maintain that feeling of uncovering the story for yourself, and keeping that intact while the game is still being developed requires careful planning.

According to Gallegos, the full story of Subnautica 2 won’t be available when the early access version launches on May 14th. Instead, the narrative will be revealed gradually through major updates during early access, slowly drawing players deeper into the story as the game is developed towards its final 1.0 release. The aim is to make the story feel seamless and complete when finished.

Our goal is to let players who joined early access continue their progress and experience more of the story. At the same time, we want the final 1.0 release to feel completely polished and seamless, as if early access never happened. We want players starting fresh at 1.0 to have a smooth, uninterrupted experience.

The upcoming sequel to Subnautica aims to offer features like crossplay, compatibility with devices like the Steam Deck and Xbox ROG Ally, and the ability to share save files. However, the game is also pushing boundaries with its story. According to its Steam description, Subnautica 2 will explore the idea of transcending what it means to be human. While details are still under wraps, the game’s thematic direction is heavily influenced by writer Seth Dickinson. The central question isn’t about adapting an alien world for human survival, but rather what it would take to change ourselves to survive in it.

We’ve seen hints of this idea in other sci-fi stories – the thought that people living on Mars for a long time might develop stronger muscles, for example. We want players to consider what it truly means to adapt when trying to survive on another planet. The focus isn’t on changing the planet to fit human needs, but on changing ourselves to fit the planet.

Gallegos acknowledges that details are still somewhat unclear, and that’s intentional. They want to leave room for discovery as players experience the early access version. More importantly, Unknown Worlds wants to recreate the magic of the original Subnautica – a game that was best enjoyed knowing as little as possible beforehand. Their aim is for players to enthusiastically tell their friends to simply start playing without looking up any spoilers.

If Unknown Worlds follows its current plan for Subnautica 2‘s early access, players can expect regular updates, a constant stream of feedback being incorporated, and the story being revealed gradually over time—in significant chunks with each major release.

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2026-04-30 18:52