Subnautica 2, the new underwater survival game from Unknown Worlds, took less than an hour to rocket up Steam's charts. The game has already sold more than 1 million copies, according to a press release, and as of this writing, Steam's charts show that Subnautica 2 is currently the fourth-most played game on the platform […]
Gaming Entertainment News Subnautica 2 is already having a huge launch on Steam It’s already sold one million copies, and it hasn’t even been out for a day.
It’s already sold one million copies, and it hasn’t even been out for a day.
by Jay Peters May 14, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC Link Share Gift If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.
See our ethics statement.
Subnautica 2 , the new underwater survival game from Unknown Worlds, took less than an hour to rocket up Steam’s charts. The game has already sold more than 1 million copies, according to a press release , and as of this writing, Steam’s charts show that Subnautica 2 is currently the fourth-most played game on the platform with more than 460,000 concurrent players. The only titles with more concurrent players right now are perennial heavy hitters Counter-Strike 2 , Dota 2 , and PUBG: Battlegrounds .
It’s also worth noting that Steam’s Subnautica 2 player count doesn’t include players on the Epic Games Store or on Xbox, where the game is also now available in early access, so the total number of concurrent players is probably even higher.
The huge launch isn’t a total surprise. Before release, Subnautica 2 got 5 million wishlists and was the most-wishlisted game on Steam . It’s a followup to the well-received Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero . And it was also at the center of a lengthy legal dispute between Unknown Worlds executives and the Unknown Worlds’ owner, Krafton — and around when that happened, the game was delayed from a planned 2025 early access launch, ostensibly due to feedback from playtests.
Related Subnautica 2 launches soon after lengthy legal dispute After a judge’s ruling in March that reinstated the studio’s CEO and extended the eligibility window for a potentially significant bonus for Unknown Worlds’s developers, the game got its new early access launch date . The studio expects that the early access period will last for “about” two to three years.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Jay Peters Entertainment Gaming News Most Popular Most Popular Why does the Googlebook exist?
Android Auto is now one (screen) size fits all Google announces its Chromebook successor: the Googlebook You can make an app for that The Apple Studio Display could have been so much more The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad
