Subnautica 2 Global Release Times, Preload Details Confirmed

It's been quite the journey, I know, but it's almost here — Subnautica 2 is dragging us back down beneath the waves on May 14.

Subnautica 2 is an open-water survival game from the creators of the original Subnautica series, wherein you can play alone or with friends and explore alluring biomes and discover fascinating creatures, crafting vehicles, tools, and bases to help survive a mysterious alien world. While there have been a few wobbles — including a painfully public falling out between developer Unknown Worlds and publisher Krafton — the game is finally releasing into early access later this week.

As an early access title, Subnautica 2 launches as a work-in-progress, which means you may experience some issues and bugs along the way. "We make our best games when you are involved from the start," the developer explained. "The earlier you play, the faster we hear what you want. This is how we have historically built our games. By involving you in the development process and iterating on your feedback, we build better games."

Subnautica 2 is available to preorder and preload right now on Steam and Xbox Series X and S. It's also available to pre-purchase on Epic Games Store. It's set to launch straight into Game Pass as one of the headline May titles. There's no word yet on a PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2 version.

Don't forget that, as a thank you for clocking up an incredible 5 million wishlists on Steam, every player will receive a snazzy Reaper Leviathan Statue blueprint, and not just during the first week, as previously stated.

Subnautica 2 global early access release times:

Depending on where you are in the world, Subnautica 2 is set to go live at the following times:

Thursday, May 14, 2026:

PDT (San Francisco):

• 8am

CST (Mexico City):

• 9am

CDT (Chicago):

• 10am

EDT (New York):

• 11am

BST (London):

• 4pm

CEST (Paris):

• 5pm

CST (Beijing):

• 11pm

Friday, May 15, 2026:

JST (Tokyo):

• 12am midnight

AEST (Sydney):

• 1am

NZST (Wellington):

• 3am

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.