Subnautica 2 is a multiplayer-focused live-service recreation, writer Krafton has revealed.
Writing in its newest monetary report, Krafton described Subnautica 2 as a “multiplayer sequel to the unique IP pursuing fandom snowballing”, which is a garbled approach of describing the sport.
Krafton stated Subnautica 2 lets gamers “discover an oceanic world in beautiful stylized graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5”, with “single or one to 4 participant co-op to uncover the mysteries on a completely new alien planet”, alongside a “game-as-a-service mannequin with enhanced replayability.”
Subnautica is a vastly profitable indie recreation that first emerged in 2018, then noticed a follow-up, dubbed Beneath Zero, in 2021. IGN’s Subnautica assessment returned a 9/10. We stated: “Subnautica’s a survival recreation with focus and a very good sci-fi story, however its biggest achievement is its underwater horror.”
We had been equally impressed with Beneath Zero: “Subnautica: Beneath Zero is a leaner, meaner standalone growth to Subnautica that improves on the story and mechanics, however would not give us as a lot room to discover,” we stated. Subnautica and Beneath Zero are single-player recreation, though modders added multiplayer post-launch.
The trade seems to be combating live-service video games after a quantity or current efforts failed to maneuver the needle and a few had been even cancelled earlier than launch. Maybe most notably, Sony canned Naughty Canine’s The Final of Us multiplayer recreation amid a extra normal pull again on live-service at PlayStation. Naughty Canine will now concentrate on single-player video games.
Beforehand profitable live-service video games have additionally hit laborious instances. Bungie’s Future 2 has struggled commercially, and Fortnite maker Epic has introduced big layoffs. In the meantime, some single-player solely video games noticed huge success in 2023, with the likes of Hogwarts Legacy and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom blowing up gross sales data. Rocksteady’s just lately launched Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League suffered forward of launch for its affiliation with the live-service mannequin.
As for Subnautica 2, it’s down for launch in some unspecified time in the future in 2024, which suggests Krafton will reveal it sooner slightly than later. It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how its live-service mannequin works.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.