Subnautica 2 Early Access Has Reached 1 Million Copies Sold Day 1

• Release Date: May 14th 2026 (Early Access)
• Platform: PC, Xbox Series X|S
• Developers: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
• Publishers: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
• Steam Page: Link

Within just a few hours of its Early Access release on May 14th, Subnautica 2 shot to the top 3 of Steam Charts to nearly 500k concurrent players, making it the top survival game of 2026 after surpassing Windrose's 222k player peak.

On Bluesky, the game's official channel revealed that it had already sold 1 million copies.

What is Subnautica?

The Subnautica franchise had its beginnings with the Early Access release of its first installment in 2014 with its official 1.0 release happening in 2018. At the time, it reached a peak of 51k players on Steam Charts with critical acclaim of an 87/100 on Metacritic.

With its unique emphasis on ocean exploration and survival, Subnautica sets itself apart from other survival games, offering moments of otherworldly tranquility alongside occasional claustrophobic horror.

In 2019, Subnautica: Below Zero, a DLC expansion that became more of a spin-off, released in Early Access with its official release in 2021. Below Zero peaked at 42k on Steam Charts with a lower but still respectable score of 82/100 on Metacritic.

After years of hype for a mainline sequel, Subnautica 2 is poised to be the franchise's biggest entry yet and build upon the successes of its predecessors.

The official 1.0 release date of Subnautica 2 is still unknown and should be a few years out. Stay tuned for our coverage of the game if you plan on playing it during its Early Access period!