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In recent months, fans have increasingly been talking about the next installment in the Subnautica series, with lead artist Liam Tart recently hinting that the community may not have to wait long for the next game to come out. The game about underwater exploration and its sequel continue to attract fans, and comments from another developer suggest that the next Subnautica game will have an Early Access period like its predecessors.
Subnautica’s unique charm as an underwater survival game has made it stand out and hugely popular upon its official release, achieving astonishing success considering the relatively small team behind it. Much of its appeal comes from the game’s surprisingly unintentional horror aspect: players are stranded in an oceanic alien world full of countless strange lifeforms, including several kinds of massive and highly aggressive leviathans. Much of the content that was cut from the original game with arctic environments and lots of creatures was used in Subnautica: Below Zero, a direct sequel to the first game and its events, which officially released in May 2021.
With the Subnautica Unknown Worlds development team hiring additional staff to work on the “next game in the Subnautica universe” following the release of the previous game, as well as occasional but cryptic tweets from members of the development team that seem to hint at another sequel, it’s no wonder the term “Subnautica 3” has been playing a lot among fans lately. However, excitement for the future of the franchise grew even more after Liam Tart, lead artist on Unknown Worlds, wrote on his personal twitter accountthat the team will have a lot of cool content for the next Subnautica game when it’s ready. While no further details or specific dates have been given, it’s clear that the development of the next game in the series is well under way and fans may well see official information sooner than expected.
In addition, Subnautica animator and lead developer Scott McDonald, aka Obraxis, added fuel to the fire, answering in a peculiar way to a fan’s question in the comments on the tweet. While any details regarding a future addition to the Subnautica series are far from confirmed at this point, these communications seem to suggest that the sequel will eventually include an Early Access period like other Subnautica games.
Subnautica: Below Zero has done a wonderful job of expanding the game’s universe, story, and gameplay options while maintaining a tone that’s true to the original. However, the differences seen in Below Zero were enough to make it stand out as a sequel, leaving many interested fans curious about the next installment in the underwater exploration series.
Subnautica available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
