The hugely successful survival game Subnautica is to get a sequel according to a leaked financial report that has found its way out of publisher Krafton, and everything in the document points to a release this year.
UPDATE at bottom of the page.
The last few months have seen countless leaks plague the industry as information that is perhaps not ready for prime time has found its way to the public domain. The PowerPoint presentation detailing Subnautica 2’s release among many others is just the latest of them.
It’s hard to imagine a time when pouring over any PowerPoint doc was considered interesting, but when the sequel to such a popular game is name-dropped, it is going to get attention. We are not going to link the source as it is a file on Krafton’s website that should be more secure than it is, especially now the link has started to do the rounds of the internet.
From the slide we have seen it suggests Subnautica 2 will be multi-player with a model of a “game as a service”, which may not delight everybody. Subnautica 2 Battle Pass incoming anybody? (Update: see below)
Bringing with it a new alien planet to get stranded on Krafton’s slideshow extraordinaire states the game will let you “explore an oceanic world in stunning stylized graphics powered by Unreal Engine (which is cool, because that means we can probably play it in VR too then!)
You will be able to play the game with one to four players in what is billed as a “multiplayer sequel to the original IP pursuing fandom snowballing”. Make of that what you will. It is listed under the header of “Strategic Titles for 2024”, so if this is to be the case, expect to be hearing more about it soon.
The original Subnautica was published as far back as 2014 in Early Access for Windows, with Xbox and PlayStation versions following. It has gone on to sell almost six million copies since and developer Unknown Worlds Director and lead Programmer Charlie Cleveland set out in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting to create a videogame that only contained non-lethal weapons.
Update:
Since the publication of the story Unknown Worlds has reached out to us via its PR company with the following update:`
“A few of you noticed some information shared online by our publisher, KRAFTON
While some of the news is exciting, we’d like to clarify:
- Early Access is not intended for release in 2024, but we plan to share a lot more information later this year!
- In reference to “Games-as-a-Service,” we simply plan to continually update the game for many years to come, just like the previous two Subnautica games. Think our Early Access update model, expanded. No season passes. No battle passes. No subscription.
- The game is not multiplayer-focused. Co-op will be an entirely optional way to play the game. You’ll be able to enjoy the game as a single-player.
As always, we are so proud and incredibly grateful to have such a passionate and engaged community, who love the Subnautica games deeply.
Thanks for keeping an eye out for any news about our progress on the next game.
We’re so excited to show you what we’ve been working on and hope that you love it as much as we do.
– The Subnautica Team”
It’s great to see a company reaching out so proactively after being hit by a leak.
