The release of the first official glimpses of gameplay for the highly anticipated Subnautica sequel has been overshadowed by news and allegations regarding the reason for the delay to 2026. Subnautica 2 was hotly anticipated to enter its early access period this year, but fans were wary last week when it was reported that the original creators of the series were no longer involved with the sequel’s development.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The gameplay trailer for Subnautica 2, uploaded July 9th to the official Subnautica YouTube channel, features a one-minute voice-over gameplay demonstration titled “Take a Deep Breath.”
In it, the trailer features the return of the female robot voice that fans are familiar with. It also introduces the new world of Zezura, where players will embark on a new adventure. Fans will note the return of old items and familiar, yet new environments to explore. There is also a short showcase of base building and a multiplayer mode, which the original game lacked, and that fans have been excited about. The teaser concludes with a promise that Early Access for the game is coming soon, though no specific date is given beyond a vague 2026 release.
While the trailer looks promising enough, the comments and reactions to the teaser were consumed by the other major news that dropped at the same time: the game’s unexpected and potentially unceremonious delay.
“Delaying and cutting directors to save money is actually something Alterra would do. Love the new levels of immersion,” read a top YouTube comment from user Internalized Soup.
The game’s ominous delay implications were broken by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who reported that the real reason for the game’s release date pushback may have been to avoid promised multi-million dollar bonuses to the development team. Reportedly, these bonuses were tied to revenue targets for 2025 and would likely have been eligible for payout if Subnautica 2 had been released this year.
This line of skepticism seems to make some amount of sense, as last week, one of the ousted co-founders of Subnautica 2, Charlie Cleveland, made a Reddit post declaring the game was already finished enough for Early Access.
“So you can see why for Max, Ted, myself, the Unknown Worlds team, and for our community, the events of this week have been quite a shock,” wrote Cleveland, who goes by the handle Flayra online. “We know that the game is ready for early access release and we know you’re ready to play it. And while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton’s hands. And after all these years, to find that I’m no longer able to work at the company I started stings.”
In an update to the reporting posted today on the social media platform Bluesky, Schreier confirmed that he received documentation of the $250 million payout, of which 10% was to be paid to 40 Unknown Worlds staff members, with the rest allocated to other employees.
“All of that money was tied to revenue targets. It remains to be seen if Krafton will amend the contract to give Unknown Worlds more time to hit those revenue targets even after delaying Subnautica 2 to 2026,” wrote Schreier in a Bluesky post. “And of course, litigation may be looming. This story certainly isn’t over yet.”
Krafton issued its own statement today addressing the leadership changes and the state of the game. In a very pointed message, Krafton said “the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them.” Subnautica 2 was originally meant to launch in early access in 2024, but based on the new delays, it’s not expected until 2026.
It’s a shame that things have happened the way they did, since players have been waiting for a proper sequel to Subnautica for a long time, and what we have seen of the gameplay so far looks fun.
