Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has poured cold water on hopes it will add more ways to defend yourself in the popular underwater survival game and potentially fight off dangerous fish.
This has been a contentious issue since Subnautica 2 released last week, mostly as in Subnautica 1, there were ways to fend off fish hassling you. But in Subnautica 2, all you have is a flare, which some players are declaring isn’t enough. The issue was aggravated further when a Subnautica 2 developer told players on the game’s Discord (via IGN): “We aren’t a killing game. Go play Sons of the Forest or something if you want to kill.”
Unknown Worlds has now issued an open letter apologising for this response, acknowledging players who felt “ignored” or “dismissed” by the developer’s abrupt response, and said it was sorry for it. “Early Access should be a conversation with our players,” the studio explained, “not a one-way explanation from the development team. Your feedback matters, and we do not want any part of our communication to make the community feel otherwise.”
Unknown Worlds also tackled the issue of fighting fish head on, reasoning that this desire for self defence probably stems from other mechanics not working well enough. However, it stressed that combat isn’t a direction it wants to take Subnautica 2 in.
“We have heard the strong request for more direct ways to deal with hostile creatures,” Unknown Worlds wrote, “including the ability to kill them. We understand where that request is coming from. When avoidance and mitigation tools do not feel effective, it is natural for players to want a more decisive solution.
“Our current direction is not based on judging players who want combat, and it is not because we think those players are wrong. Subnautica has always been built around vulnerability, exploration, and survival rather than traditional weapon-based combat. We believe that this is part of what makes the game unique. However, that design only works if creature encounters feel fair, readable, and engaging. Right now, we know we have more work to do to achieve that.”
To that end, the studio is working on improvements to creature behaviour and player mitigation, and upcoming changes include adjustments to creature aggression timing and aggro range, flare and Survival Tool effectiveness, and creature interactions with vehicles and bases.
“In the coming weeks, we will be delivering a series of improvements aimed at addressing the concerns we are hearing from this community. We hope those changes will demonstrate that we are listening and that we are committed to working with you to make Subnautica 2 the best game it can be.”
Subnautica 2 has been a huge success on Steam early access already, racing to 2m sales in 12 hours and having hundreds of thousands of people play at the same time. But it’s a sequel that has been marred in controversy, mostly because of a major legal battle between Unknown Worlds and the game’s former publisher Krafton, which contested the firing of key people from the team and alleged that Krafton sought to withhold a hefty $250m bonus package. A judge ruled in Unknown Worlds’ favour earlier this year, though design lead Anthony Gallegos confirmed to Eurogamer that Krafton is still technically attached as co-publisher.
From what we’ve played of Subnautica 2 already, we’re very impressed. “The joy of discovery in Subnautica 2 – when you’re not being chased down by sharks or nibbled at by fish – is immense,” wrote Kelsey in our Subnautica 2 impressions. And Matt followed that with his thoughts on Subnautica 2’s early access release this morning, saying: “Co-op is definitely the worst way to play Subnautica 2, but as a big old sea-wuss, I really don’t care.”
