Subnautica 2: Will the Architect Race Return in the Sequel?

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Major spoilers ahead for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero.

Much remains unknown about the upcoming game Subnautica 2, despite its scheduled early access release drawing near. Ever since the announcement, fans have been eagerly seeking answers about the highly anticipated follow-up to Subnautica. They’ve been asking questions about everything from the game’s location to its ambitious multiplayer feature. Fans are particularly intrigued to see how far Subnautica 2 might deviate from the previous games in the series, which is why there’s so much speculation surrounding whether the sequel will feature the Architect race and to what extent.

Subnautica’s Mysterious Alien Race Explained

To get a better idea of whether the Architects will play a role in Subnautica 2, fans should understand exactly who they once were. The Architects are a species of considerably advanced, spacefaring aliens which appear to have spread across much of the Subnautica universe. They do not originate from planet 4546b, the ocean world that both existing Subnautica games are set in, but rather a different planet located at an unknown point in the universe. Humanity in the Subnautica universe had seemingly never made contact with them or the technology they left behind prior to the events of the first game, though the Architects are known to have visited Earth in the 13th century thanks to a human relic stored in one of the aliens’ facilities.

Players can discover and explore the many abandoned Architect facilities throughout both Subnautica games, and even get to befriend a live Architect, Al-An, in Below Zero, who is thought to be one of the last of his kind. It turns out that these aliens had encountered the lethal and highly contagious Kharaa bacterium during their exploration of the universe, and were desperate to develop a cure as the disease rapidly spread across their worlds. 4546b was just one of many planets that the Architects deployed research teams to, in the hopes of discovering other lifeforms capable of resisting or curing the disease.

Why Subnautica 2’s New Setting is Important

It isn’t yet known where exactly Subnautica 2 will be taking place, but it is known that the sequel will be set on a completely new planet. This means that players shouldn’t expect to find any of their favorite fish from 4546b in the sequel, but it doesn’t rule out the possibility of the spacefaring Architects from having a presence on the planet. The alien species, as well as their structures and technologies, have always been major aspects of the Subnautica games so far, both from a narrative and gameplay perspective. The current description of Subnautica 2 on Steam confirms that it will pursue a new story of its own, so it likely won’t dwell on previously explored narrative elements such as the Kharaa bacterium. There’s still much to learn about the Architects themselves, though, and them having a presence on Subnautica 2‘s new planet is certainly plausible.

For further context of how widespread the Architect race was, alien data from the first game claims that roughly 143 billion Architect lives were lost to the infection, and that was just during the early stages of the pandemic. Considering there are only around 8.2 billion humans on Earth today, this puts into perspective the size of their society, and thus the number of planets they undoubtedly touched. With the ending of Subnautica: Below Zero seeing Robin and Al-An traveling to the Architect homeworld and even providing fans with a glimpse at what it looks like, many players have hypothesized that Subnautica 2 could take place on the Architect home planet itself.

The Case for Subnautica 2 to Take Players to The Architect Homeworld

While this is within the realm of possibility, it seems very unlikely. Though only small glimpses of Subnautica 2‘s planet have been shown so far, it doesn’t seem to resemble the alien homeworld at all. Further, the game’s Steam description states that players will fill the shoes of pioneers traveling to a totally new alien planet, and the Architect homeworld is known to be considerably well-hidden.

With that in mind, however, it seems all but certain at this point that one of Subnautica 2‘s features will include some kind of intelligent alien species or their remnants. Some fans paying close attention to Subnautica 2‘s teaser trailer may have noticed what seem like crumbling underwater ruins in the background of one environment, and the game’s Steam description even confirms that players will be able to “explore mysterious ruins.” Whether these ruins are Architect in nature or perhaps built by a new race of intelligent aliens remains to be seen, but it has certainly gotten the attention of lore enthusiasts.

Subnautica 2 will remain in active development during its early access period, meaning that environments, features, and narrative may not be final.

Subnautica 2 Seems to Feature More Human-Architect Hybrid Technology

Further putting aside speculation and focusing on the details offered in Subnautica 2‘s trailer, it seems that humans have continued to adapt Architect technology since the events of the original game. This is shown in the trailer through the new and updated version of the trusty scanner tool, which now seems to include a holographic display resembling alien technology. The fate of the Architect race in the Subnautica series was left ambiguous, and while it’s not certain whether they’ll play a role in the upcoming sequel, they remain an intriguing and crucial part of the game’s universe which could be expanded on further in the future.

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2025-03-15 17:08