Subnautica 2 Hits Over 1 Million Copies Sold on Launch Day

There was so much anticipation for Subnautica 2 that Unknown Worlds’ announcement of a major sales figure on launch day was anything but surprising. While still in Early Access, the underwater exploration game had so many people itching to check out the next adventure in the series that pre-release purchases reached numbers most developers would kill for weeks after a game’s release. Here’s what we know about Subnautica 2‘s impressive start now that it’s live and on the digital storefronts of Xbox and PC.

A long-anticipated sequel to the hit 2018 survival game, Subnautica 2 will take you beyond the oceans of Planet 4546B to an all-new underwater alien world. As part of the crew aboard Alterra’s CICADA ship, players are tasked with creating a home for you and the other 40,000 souls aboard. Ahead of its Early Access launch, and just days after pre-purchases opened this week, Subnautica 2 surpassed 1 million copies sold and reached the No. 1 spot on Steam’s global top sellers charts across multiple countries.

A huge part of the game’s success was viral clips of the mysterious, and often terrifying, creatures that await underwater. The streaming community really took to the original game, which was a massive breakout for the developer. I loved my time with the original, and I have a feeling the sequel will be getting a good amount of my time in the coming weeks.

Subnautica 2 is the official sequel to the indie hit Subnautica, whose series has sold more than 18.5 million copies worldwide. Fans have waited a while for this return to the Subnautica universe. The sequel introduces new ecosystems, enhanced visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, and, for the first time in the series, optional co-op for up to four players, allowing players to survive and explore together. Subnautica 2 is available now on Steam, Xbox (Series X|S consoles and PC), and the Epic Games Store. Let us know in the comments if you plan to check it out!