The new underwater game was illegally distributed by leakers two days before its release. One of the pirates has now accidentally revealed his identity.
It happens from time to time that new games are leaked by pirates before their release, as was recently the case withForza Horizon 6. Subnautica 2, which was released on May 14, 2026, also had to deal with such a leak.
One of the software pirates who obtained a copy of the underwater adventure this way contacted the developers with a game issue—and inadvertently revealed his misdeed.
“Thanks for pirating a game I’ve spent years working on”
On May 13, a user posted on the Subnautica Discord server about a game issue and asked one of the developers for advice.
The exact messages have since been deleted, but the replies clearly show that the user had access to Subnautica 2 that he wasn’t supposed to have. Another user pointed out that the game hadn’t even been released yet, andLead Designer Anthony Gallegosconfirmed that this was indeed about Subnautica 2.
After some back-and-forth, Gallegos finally called the user out:
It wasn’t exactly easy, but this guy came forward on his own. Thanks a lot for pirating a game I’ve spent years working on. I’m disappointed that you’re doing this, especially since this is how we make a living.I hope you reconsider your life choices.
The next day, the developer elaborated on exactly what bothers him about video game piracy. It’s not even the theft itself, but the attitude that some pirates display.
Pirates will do their thing. We were all kids once. The financial situation is very difficult. I understand that. It’s not the piracy that bothered me. It’s the people who just walk in here and rub it in the faces of those waiting to play the game legally. […]
Gallegos can’t condone piracy, but he understands why people do it. However, he would prefer it if people simply bought the game, played it for an hour, and then returned it, rather than just playing it illegally.
Pirated copies of Subnautica 2: What was actually going on?
Shortly before the actual release of Subnautica 2, screenshots and clips of the survival game were circulating on forums like Reddit. It is even said to have been streamed by someone on livestream platforms.
Developer studio Unknown Worlds subsequently confirmed that unofficial versions were being distributed over the internet. Speaking toIGNthe studio warned that these builds are incomplete development versions and do not reflect the content or gameplay experience of the official release.
Furthermore, files distributed through unofficial channels cannot be verified for security or stability, and multiplayer support as well as future updates will only be provided via official builds.
So far, it has remained at this warning. The developers are apparently taking a different approach here than their colleagues at Microsoft. In the wake of the Forza leak, for example, Microsoft imposed 8,000-year bans on the pirates. You can read more about this in the article we linked to above.
