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A player-built underwater base connected by habitat corridors in Subnautica 2. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds / Krafton)
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Some of my first coverage for The Escapist in the middle of last year was around the hoo-hah around Krafton and Subnautica 2.
Accusations were flying around left, right and center after the Unknown Worlds team had their head honchos removed by owners, Krafton. I assume, somewhere at least, that still rumbles on, but Subnautica 2, which was initially earmarked to enter Early Access last year, is making strides towards that milestone now, it seems, arguments or not.
Anyway, time to move on and the new base-building system was showcased in the latest developer vlog for the upcoming survival sequel, where the team demonstrated a more flexible, piece-by-piece construction approach that lets players build seabases with far greater control than before.
Base-building has always been a central pillar of the Subnautica experience. In the original game and its standalone follow-up Below Zero, players could assemble underwater habitats using pre-defined modules connected by corridors. While effective, the system naturally limited how much freedom players had when shaping their bases.
The video above is a must-watch if you were into the first game, as the vlog also showcases the system in multiplayer, demonstrating how players can collaborate to construct intricate seabases together. Subnautica 2 also introduces optional four-player cooperative gameplay, allowing friends to build, explore, and survive side-by-side while developing shared bases.
“Base-building is fundamental to Subnautica as a franchise,” said Anthony Gallegos, Design Lead at Unknown Worlds. “With Subnautica 2 we wanted to increase player expression, and leaned into a sculptural base-building system that provides far more flexibility than anything we’ve done before. We can’t wait to see what players create and how they push the system to its limits.”
We are hoping Subnautica 2 finally makes it into Early Access in this first part of 2026.
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