Subnautica 2 Hits Record Player Count, Over 9 Times Its Predecessor’s Peak

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Subnautica 2 is currently the top-selling and most wishlisted game on Steam. It sold millions of copies in its first week, performing much better than the original Subnautica and its sequel.

The release of Subnautica 2, initially planned for 2025, was significantly delayed last year when Krafton, the parent company of Unknown Worlds Entertainment, removed the studio’s leaders. Krafton claimed they weren’t focused on the game and that it wasn’t ready for players to test. However, in March 2026, a court decision gave Ted Gill, the former CEO, back control of the Subnautica 2 development team. While a $250 million bonus dispute between the executives and Krafton remained unresolved, the court ruling allowed development to move forward. During the eight months of legal battles, Subnautica 2 was substantially improved, and Krafton admitted the game was finally ready for early access shortly after the court’s decision.

Subnautica 2 Overshadows Its Predecessor by 800%

After a five-year wait, Subnautica 2 was released on May 14th for PC and Xbox Series X/S, as well as through Steam and the Epic Games Store. The game quickly became popular, with over 110,000 players on Steam joining immediately at 10 a.m. ET. Within ten minutes, that number climbed to over 210,000, and by 10:20 a.m. ET, SteamDB data showed 341,788 fans were already playing the game on Steam.

Subnautica Games Steam Comparison

Subnautica Subnautica: Below Zero Subnautica 2
Release Date January 24, 2018 May 14, 2021 May 14, 2026
Player Peak (All-Time) 51,156 42,115 467,582
Player Peak (All-Time) Date Jan 28, 2018 May 16, 2021 May 14, 2026
Player Peak (24-Hour) 48,604 10,047 326,851
Daily Active Users Rank #36 #177 #5
Top Sellers Rank #6 #14 #1
Most-Wishlisted Rank #20 #54 #1
SteamDB Followers 638,364 244,433 413,677
Steam Reviews Total 358,295 104,491 55,513
Steam Reviews Positive % 96.07% 88.97% 91.04%

Following its release, the new co-op survival game quickly gained popularity, reaching over 400,000 players on Steam by 10:40 a.m. ET on May 14th. It eventually peaked at 467,582 players just 90 minutes after launching into early access. This was a huge success for the series, breaking the previous player record by more than nine times and attracting hundreds of thousands of players eager to explore the game’s underwater world.

Unknown Worlds announced on May 14th that their new sci-fi survival game sold 1 million copies in its first 12 hours. Sales quickly jumped to 2 million by the next day, according to a company spokesperson. This is particularly remarkable considering the game was also available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, which likely limited how many copies were purchased outright.

Unknown Worlds announced on Bluesky on May 14th that their sci-fi survival game sold 1 million copies within the first 12 hours of release. A company spokesperson later shared that Subnautica 2 quickly reached 2 million copies sold by the next day. These strong sales figures are especially impressive considering the game was available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, which likely reduced the number of direct purchases.

It’s still uncertain if Unknown Worlds can keep up this level of success with future updates as they continue developing the game. Although both Subnautica and Below Zero stayed popular for years after they came out, neither launched with this much initial attention. Subnautica 2 is now the studio’s most popular game, and keeping players engaged over the long term will be their biggest challenge yet.

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2026-05-18 14:05