The most anticipated game on Steam is finally here. Subnautica 2 is off to a dream start in Early Access with strong player numbers and reviews.
Fans have been hoping and waiting anxiously for a long time, and now the moment has finally arrived. 11 years after the first Subnautica, Subnautica 2is launching in Early Access on Steam. The release lives up to expectations for the most-wanted Steam game: Subnautica 2 lands directly in the Steam charts with strong player numbers and excellent reviews.
An absolute dream start
On release night, Subnautica 2 reached a peak of467,682 concurrent players. This puts the survival game among the top 30 games with the highest concurrent player records, even surpassing titles like Helldivers 2 or Sons of the Forest. Among the most-played titles on Steam right now, Subnautica 2 evenranks 4th.
Over 1 million Subnauts have already dived into Subnautica 2
We can’t thank you enough for your support! pic.twitter.com/3a0OKXChvp
— Subnautica (@Subnautica) May 14, 2026
It’s no surprise, then, that the survival game is apparently flying off the shelves: Just one hour after its releasethe developers reported one million units sold.
But Subnautica 2 isn’t just played—it’s loved: Over 17,000 reviews have been submitted on Steam so far, and 92 percent of them are positive. Let’s see what players are saying:
Given the recent stories surrounding Krafton, I was a little worried, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s clearly still an Early Access game at this point: it’s a bit rough around the edges, and honestly, the map feels a bit small when you first start out. […] Where the game really shines, to be honest, is in base building. You can dynamically scale walls and rooms; the whole system feels very intuitive, and it’s fun to experiment with.
All in all, if you know you’re buying an early-access game just to explore, build, and look around, there’s really a lot of potential here.
The gameplay is a perfect mix of ‘Ooh, shimmering fish’ and ‘Cute, a snail,’ but also ‘OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THAT AND WHAT DOES IT WANT FROM ME.’
Graphically, it’s a drastic improvement over its predecessor. […] It’s significantly scarier […] and you always suspect there’s something in the dark corners that wants to eat you (and most of the time, that’s exactly what happens). I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues!
Finally, the third game where you can swim right up to all the dangerous creatures, simply because the desire to scan them is stronger than any possible danger.
Thanks to the expertise I’ve gained so far, I’ve only died three times during the scanning process.
This game is cool. I thought we’d found everything, and then we got to Act 2. You guys aren’t ready for the giant crab! 10/10, would scream into the ocean again.
Since Subnautica 2 was released in Early Access, of course not everything is perfect or even remotely finished. Consequently, there are naturally a few points of criticism. Players note, for example, that performance on the highest graphics settings leaves something to be desired, there are issues in multiplayer, and there isn’t much of a story yet.
We’ve, of course, already played Subnautica 2 extensively, both solo and in co-op multiplayer. In our Early Access review, which you can find in the box above, you’ll get a detailed assessment of what the survival game can already do and how much potential it has. If, on the other hand, you want to know where you definitely shouldn’t swim, then read why the developers warn of certain death near a strange tree.
