The floor-level standard for surviving in the video game industry across indie and triple-A players has always been ‘difficult,’ but in the last few years, it’s been kicked up a notch. GDC’s State of the Game Industry 2026 reported that 1-in-4 of its surveyed video game industry professionals have been laid off in the last two years, and it’s difficult for all studios, regardless of scale, to stay afloat. But that hasn’t stopped the global video game industry from reaching over $200B in revenue last year. A year which also saw titles from independent developers dominate the cultural conversation. One […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/jason-della-rocca-interview-indie-game-success-timeline/

Krafton has reached a settlement to end its months-long legal battle with former Unknown Worlds executives. As part of the agreement, Ted Gill has stepped down as CEO once again, and the developers of Subnautica 2 will receive significantly increased bonus payouts.

As reported by Bloomberg, Krafton will now pay bonuses to the entire staff at Unknown Worlds, not just the executives and original employees covered under the 2021 acquisition agreement. Gill confirmed in an interview that he has departed the company following the settlement, saying: “We mutually agreed to part ways. New leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward.”

The dispute began last year, when Krafton fired Gill and studio co‑founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. The executives claimed the dismissals were an attempt to avoid paying a $250 million earn‑out bonus tied to Subnautica 2’s performance. Krafton argued the firings were due to “neglect of duties” and delays to the game. The situation escalated into a lawsuit, culminating in a Delaware judge ruling earlier this year that Krafton had breached its contract and must reinstate Gill as CEO.

Under the new settlement, Subnautica 2 developers will be “compensated significantly more” than originally planned, with additional incentives as the game continues to be updated. The bonus structure has also been expanded to include all current staff, even those who joined after the acquisition. Payments will be made in three annual instalments.

After an unfortunate delay last year, Subnautica 2 released via Steam Early Access on May and has already gone on to sell over 4 million copies. That number will likely continue to grow as major content updates drop.

KitGuru Says: Have you played Subnautica 2 since launch? 

Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has released its first Dev Vlog video since the game's early access launch last month, confirming that the game has sold over 4 million copies since launch and thanking players for their support so far. Design lead Anthony Gallegos also reveals a bit about the fixes Unknown Worlds has already made, fixes that are imminently coming, and the game's next big content update, teasing that it'll allow players to "get stompy." That tease comes in relation to a new chassis that'll be made available for your Tadpole when the next region is revealed, which will […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/subnautica-2-players-get-stompy-unknown-worlds-teases-leviathans-home-region/

In Subnautica 2, you'll very quickly learn that resources like Copper, Titanium, and Quartz are the building blocks of what you'll need to do, well, anything, the more you progress in the game. You'll always need more of all three of those resources, and they're thankfully easy to find in every part of the map. What's not as easy to find, however, are Necrolei Cysts. It's a resource that you'll need for a key crafted resource, Strong Acid, an ingredient you'll need to craft a Power Cell, which you'll need for when you want to craft your first Tadpole in […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/subnautica-2-necrolei-cysts-how-to-find/

A new report seems to confirm what has felt like an inevitability since before it launched, that Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds will indeed be getting its $250 million bonus from its parent company, Krafton. The same bonus that Krafton's CEO tried (and failed) to find a way out of paying by using ChatGPT to guide him through what quickly became a very public and messy legal battle over the past year. Spotted by IGN, a report from The Korean Economic Daily citing its own sources claims that Krafton has agreed to pay the $250M bonus, after Subnautica 2 launched […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/krafton-will-have-to-pay-250-million-bonus-to-subnautica-2-dev-unknown-worlds/

As is the case with any good survival crafting game, there are certain crafting milestones you reach that dramatically open the game up more than what was previously possible. For Subnautica 2, in its current early access state, arguably the biggest milestone to reach is when you craft your first Tadpole, the vehicle that lets you explore the alien ocean with ease. Essentially, half of what's currently available to explore in the game is locked behind your ability to craft a Tadpole, so you're going to want to get there as soon as you can. This guide will show you […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/subnautica-2-how-to-craft-tadpole/

Subnautica 2 has finally arrived in its early access state, and millions of players have excitedly dived into its alien ocean waters right away, only to find it incredibly overwhelming. Now, veteran Subnautica players are used to the game's loop, but whether you're familiar with the series or not, its good to have a few tips and tricks up your sleeve when getting started. That's what this guide aims to provide. I've spent a solid number of hours diving into Subnautica 2, clearing through the story missions and what's currently available to do in its early access state, and there […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/subnautica-2-tips-and-tricks/

Following a lengthy development cycle filled with delays, lawsuits and publisher disagreements, Unknown Worlds’ highly-anticipated Subnautica 2 finally launched in Early Access late last week – selling over 1 million copies within hours. Since then, the indie title has only continued to grow, having now surpassed 4 million copies sold in under a week.

As reported by the publication Gematsu, Unknown Worlds have announced that their recently-released Subnautica 2 has officially sold over 4 million copies since its Early Access launch on the 14th of May.

Commenting on this success, the game’s executive producer Fernando Melo wrote: “Seeing millions of players dive into this new world during Early Access has been an incredible moment for the team. Community feedback continues to help shape the future of Subnautica 2, and we’re excited to keep building the experience together with our player.”

As mentioned, Subnautica 2 saw immediate success upon its launch, selling over 1 million copies in a single hour – pushing this to 2 million by its 12th hour of release.

Considering that the game has been out for less than a week and is already topping 4 million players (not accounting for those on Game Pass), it will be interesting to see how many units it will have surpassed by the time Subnautica 2 leaves Early Access in roughly 2 years’ time.

KitGuru says: Are you one of the 4 million players? If not, what’s stopping you? Will the game hit 10 million before it reaches 1.0? Let us know your thoughts down below.

If 2025 was a year defined by hit indie games, then 2026 is, at least so far, proving to be defined by hit early access titles. Slay the Spire 2 kicked things off, followed by Windrose, and now it's Subnautica 2 picking up the torch and running straight into the ocean with it. According to a new report from Alinea Analytics, after Unknown Worlds' passed the two million sales mark in less than a day, its early access sequel went on to pass 4 million copies sold less than a week after launch, bringing in $100 million in revenue. Its […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/subnautica-2-reportedly-brought-in-an-estimated-100m-with-over-4m-copies-sold-in-less-than-a-week/

There are several important materials you'll need to farm for crafting a variety of things key to survival in Subnautica 2, but the first major challenge you have when diving into this new alien ocean is finding silver. It's the material needed to craft your first air tank, which, you can surely imagine, is a key piece of gear you'll need if you want to spend more than 45 seconds underwater before having to swim to the surface to take a breath. Finding silver is imperative to everything you'll do the deeper you get into the game (and the ocean), […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/subnautica-2-how-to-get-silver/

Unknown Worlds has released the initial Early Access roadmap for Subnautica 2, following the survival sequel surpassing two million copies sold within 12 hours of its launch. The development plan outlines two targeted system improvement updates designed to address player feedback before the studio deploys its first major world expansion.

The news regarding the new sales milestone comes from IGN, which also shared some concurrent player data. Across all platforms, which include Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox Series X|S, Subnautica 2 exceeded 651,000 concurrent players. On Steam alone, it peaked at over 467,000 concurrent players, about 9 times the all-time peak of the original Subnautica.

The first scheduled update, labelled Early Access 1.1, will centre strictly on core quality-of-life refinements. Key areas slated for optimisation include the Biomods framework, Blight encounters, exploration within wrecks, and the mechanical flow of vehicle docking and fabrication. It will also add several highly requested baseline features to the game, including a dedicated sprint function, a unified storage cache option, and additional passive slots for the player's Biomod loadout.

Following the first big update, Early Access 1.2 will pivot entirely toward enhancing the game's newly introduced multiplayer infrastructure. The cooperative-centric update plans to improve user interface HUD signals, base building precision tools, and the pinned recipe system for groups. New mechanics arriving in this second wave include native in-game voice chat, player-to-player item trading, character emotes, a revive mechanic for downed teammates, and additional visual customisation choices.

Longer-term developments are categorised under a broader future expansion bucket, which will introduce substantial content additions rather than basic system overhauls. These milestones will expand the playable oceanic map with entirely new alien biomes, unique resources, fresh tools, an unannounced vehicle tier, and subsequent narrative chapters of the central story campaign. Unknown Worlds has not attached specific calendar dates to the updates, reiterating that the Early Access phase is projected to last between two and three years.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Have you tried Subnautica 2 already? What's your review of it?

Subnautica 2 has had a long and arduous development cycle, with delays, legal proceedings and more leading to fears that the sequel might not make it past the finish line. Fortunately, the struggles seem to have been worth it, with Subnautica 2 having now officially launched to huge numbers – already selling over 1 million copies.

In the immediacy following the Early Access launch of Subnautica 2 it was clear that the much-anticipated sequel was a strong performer, quickly surpassing the peak concurrent player count of the first game by a factor of almost 10x.

We’ve now gotten more concrete proof of its success, with the team at Unknown Worlds taking to BlueSky to confirm that “Over 1 million Subnauts have already dived into Subnautica 2. We can't thank you enough for your support!”

1 million copies sold is especially impressive considering the fact that the game is available on Xbox Game Pass – meaning the total number of overall players is even greater.

Of course, this is just the start for Subnautica 2, with the game still having its whole Early Access journey ahead of it. It will be interesting to see just how big the game will be by the time it reaches version 1.0.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you one of the 1 million purchasers? Was the game worth the wait? Let us know your thoughts down below.

Subnautica 2 has been out for just about an hour and a half at the time of this writing, and as you might've expected from the game that had over 5 million wishlists, its launch has been an incredible success for developer Unknown Worlds as it has already reached over 1 million copies sold and is nearing half a million concurrent players on Steam. Unknown Worlds confirmed the sales milestone about an hour after the game officially went live in Early Access, and its concurrent player count of over 450K players on Steam alone was practically its starting baseline, with […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/subnautica-2-1-million-copies-sold/

The much-anticipated underwater survival exploration game Subnautica 2 finally launches today in early access on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store) and Game Preview (also available via Game Pass) on Xbox Series S and X, following an ongoing querelle between the founders of Unknown Worlds and KRAFTON that turned into an active lawsuit. After the court's decision to reinstate the former Unknown Worlds CEO, Ted Gill, the studio quickly communicated the early access launch date. Ahead of the debut, awaited by over five million users on Steam alone, Wccftech was invited to a remote media presentation featuring lead game designer Anthony […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/subnautica-2-new-planet-systems-roadmap/

Subnautica 2 has officially launched into Early Access on Steam, despite delays and some legal troubles along the way. According to SteamDB, Subnautica 2 has already reached a higher concurrent player count than its predecessor. 

Following the launch, the concurrent player numbers for Subnautica 2 immediately shot up, reaching a peak of 467,582 at the time of writing. This is a huge increase over the peak player numbers for Subnautica 1, which as Insider Gaming points out, peaked at just over 51K concurrent players on Steam.

So far, the user reviews for Subnautica 2 on Steam are also very positive, showing that the game has a great foundation in place for future updates. Subnautica 2 will now continue to get major content updates throughout the early access period, before a full 1.0 launch within the next couple of years.

Subnautica 2 is available on more platforms than just Steam though. It is also a day-one Game Pass title for Xbox Series X/S and the game is also available through the Epic Games Store. According to Krafton, the game has already sold a million copies.

KitGuru Says: Have you picked up Subnautica 2 already? How are you finding the game so far? 

This week's GeForce Now update has arrived, with eleven new games joining the library, including the biggest new game of the week, Subnautica 2, which just had a record-breaking early access launch.

Aside from Subnautica 2 there is one other major day-one title worthy of headliner status – Forza Horizon 6. The game becomes available for all Premium Edition owners tomorrow, and will be available through GeForce Now at the same time. Standard Edition buyers and Game Pass subscribers will get access to the game next week instead.

Here is the full list of games joining GeForce Now this week:

• Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes (New release on Steam, May 11)
• Outbound (New release on Steam, May 11)
• Directive 8020 (New release on Steam, May 12)
• Subnautica 2 (New release on Steam, Epic Games Store and Xbox, available on Game Pass, May 14)
• Blades of Fire (New release on Steam, May 14)
• Forza Horizon 6 (Early access on Steam and Xbox, available on Game Pass, May 14)
• Disco Elysium (Xbox, available on Game Pass)
• Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure (Epic Games Store)
• Planet Coaster 2 (Epic Games Store)
• Sudden Strike 5 (Steam)
• Super Battle Golf (Steam)

KitGuru Says: What do you think of this week's GeForce Now update?

NVIDIA's latest GeForce drivers are now available for players to download ahead of a couple of major releases within the week, including Forza Horizon 6, Directive 8020, and Subnautica 2 all arriving with support for DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and DLSS with Multi-Frame Generation. Beginning with Directive 8020, which just released yesterday, Supermassive Games' latest horror adventure arrives with support for DLSS 4.5, as mentioned, and it also supports DLSS Ray Reconstruction and Path Tracing at launch. If you're curious about Directive 8020 but have yet to jump in yourself, you can check out Kai Tatsumoto's review for Wccftech, and […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nvidia-dlss-drivers-forza-horizon-6-directive-8020-subnautica-2/

Unknown Worlds has opened up pre-orders for Subnautica 2 as the game surpasses 5 million wishlists on Steam ahead of its early access launch later this week on May 14, 2026. Subnautica 2 has reportedly been the most wishlisted game on Steam, and it will almost definitely be one of the biggest launches of 2026 before the end of the year. Even though, technically, it probably should've been one of the biggest releases of 2025 before a legal battle between Unknown Worlds' parent company Krafton and the co-founders of Unknown Worlds overshadowed the game for the past year. After that […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/subnautica-2-pre-orders-live-5-million-wishlists/

With Subnautica 2 now pushing ahead with its early access launch on May 14th, one independent studio has been forced to change its release plans in order to “dodge the leviathan”.

Outbound, a cosy new crafting-based game where you go on a roadtrip with up to four players, has announced a change in its release date. With Subnautica 2 now dropping on May 14th, Outbound has decided to move its release date to May 11th on Steam and Xbox. Meanwhile, the other console platforms will continue to get access to Outbound on May 14th.

Here is the full statement from Square Glade Games:

“The highly anticipated title Subnautica 2 just revealed their release date – which falls exactly on our planned release date. We need to dodge the Leviathan, which means that you can start your road trip on earlier! With Subnautica 2 launching on May 14th on Steam and Xbox, Outbound will now release earlier on May 11th on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox – with the other consoles following on May 14th!”

While Subnautica 1 was a huge Early Access success, then jury is still out on the sequel. Krafton acquired Subnautica studio, Unknown Worlds and ended up delaying the game last year, while also firing studio founders and creative leaders, leading to a messy legal case that could impact Subnautica 2's development.

With that in mind, I expect we may see some cautiousness around the sequel at first.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Outbound had a very popular demo on Steam, so I expect the game to do quite well when it drops, regardless of Subnautica 2 releasing in close proximity.