Subnautica 2’s early access release delayed to 2026 amid developer drama

Subnautica 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games around. It’s the second-most wishlisted game on Steam behind (you guessed it) Hollow Knight: Silksong. However, you’ll need to wait longer than anticipated to try Subnautica 2 in four-player co-op, as the survival game’s early access release has been delayed until early 2026.

Developer Unknown Worlds said that community members who took part in playtests provided positive feedback about the story, creatures, environment and general direction of the game. However, the studio said, they “also provided some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world. Our community is at the heart of how we develop, so we want to give ourselves a little extra time to respond to more of that feedback before releasing the game into early access. With that in mind, we’ve made the decision to delay Subnautica 2’s early access release to 2026.”

The delay will afford Unknown Worlds a chance to add more biomes, tools, vehicle upgrades and creatures while expanding the story, the studio said. Players can expect more details in the coming months.

But news of the delay comes amid behind-the-scenes drama at Unknown Worlds. Bloomberg reports that the studio had been in line for a $250 million bonus (which the leadership group planned to share with employees) from Krafton if it hit revenue goals by the end of this year. The delay reportedly means Unknown Worlds is very unlikely to hit those targets. As such, Bloomberg‘s sources suggest that means the team of around 100 people may not be eligible for the payout.

Last week, Krafton — which bought Unknown Worlds in 2021 — turfed out the studio’s leadership team of CEO Ted Gill and co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. The publisher brought in Steve Papoutsis, a former executive at The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance, as the new CEO of Unknown Worlds.

“There is nothing more important than the gamer experience. Given the anticipation around Subnautica 2, we owe our players nothing less than the best possible game, as soon as possible,” Krafton CEO CH Kim said in a statement, “We are thrilled Steve is joining us in our shared commitment at Krafton and Unknown Worlds to deliver Subnautica 2 as a more complete and satisfying entry in the series — one that truly lives up to player expectations.”

Per Bloomberg, Papoutsis told employees this week that Krafton didn’t believe Subnautica 2 was ready for an early access release and claimed he didn’t know the specifics of the contract regarding the quarter-billion-dollar bonus. “It’s never been told to me that we’re making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that,” he reportedly told staff.

According to Cleveland, however, Subnautica 2 is actually “ready for early access release.” The studio’s co-founder wrote in a lengthy X post on July 5 that “while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton’s hands.”

A Krafton spokesperson told Eurogamer that the decision to delay Subnautica 2 was “based solely on our commitment to quality and to delivering the best possible experience for players” and it was not “influenced by any contractual or financial considerations.” They added that “the decision had already been under discussion prior to recent leadership changes at the studio.”

Update, July 10, 3:15PM ET: In a statement shared with Engadget, Krafton provided additional context around the terms of the $250 million bonus payment and reiterated its commitment to Unknown Worlds going forward. The studio said the current version of Subnautica 2 falls short of expectations, and laid the blame at Cleveland and McGuire’s feet.

“The former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them,” the statement said. “Subnautica 2 was originally planned for an Early Access launch in early 2024, but the timeline has since been significantly delayed. Krafton made multiple requests to Charlie and Max to resume their roles as Game Director and Technical Director, respectively, but both declined to do so. In particular, following the failure of Moonbreaker, Krafton asked Charlie to devote himself to the development of Subnautica 2. However, instead of participating in the game development, he chose to focus on a personal film project. Krafton believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule.”

Krafton’s full statement reads as follows: