Subnautica 2 outpaces Crimson Desert, Slay the Spire 2, and more to become "Steam's fastest-selling 2026 game so far," analyst says

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Subnautica 2, which managed to sell a whopping two million copies selling in just 12 hours, is unsurprisingly still making waves – so much so, in fact, that it's beating out the likes of Crimson Desert and Slay the Spire 2 over on Steam.

Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics, reports as much in a new article, revealing that the Subnautica sequel has "already sold 4.1 million copies in its first week, generating $100 million in revenue."

According to the analyst, most of these – four million of them, in fact – sold on Steam, with Xbox selling just under 100,000 copies, but it's important to note that "plenty of Xbox players got their hands on Subnautica 2 thanks to Game Pass."

The total player count is "well over" six million, with Alinea Analytics' estimates showing that, "based on its performance so far (five days in), Subnautica 2 is Steam's fastest-selling 2026 game so far."

Elliott includes a handy little chart comparing Unknow Worlds' gem to other giants this year, like Crimson Desert, Resident Evil Requiem, and Slay the Spire 2 – and boy, does it highlight some impressive figures.

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Subnautica 2 is selling 1.4x faster than Slay the Spire 2, nearly 2x faster than Resident Evil Requiem, and a whole 3x faster than Crimson Desert, as per the chart.

"But owing to differences in price, Resident Evil Requiem is the leader in terms of gross revenue with $120 million five days in, versus $96 million for Subnautica 2, $78 million for Crimson Desert, and $58 million for Slay the Spire 2." That checks out.

Subnautica 2 costs just $29.99 while Resident Evil Requiem comes in at $69.99, after all. Nonetheless, these are some seriously nice numbers for Unknown Worlds, especially when you consider that it's an Early Access title on Steam right now.

There's still plenty of content coming, with all the conversation surrounding the Subnautica 2 EULA and ongoing debate about killing fish. The game just got its first hotfix today, so… yeah.

Who knows how the numbers will evolve over time, as developers release updates, DLC, and more – the opportunity for more growth is certainly there. Subnautica 2 is proving to be one of this year's biggest new games already, so it's all quite exciting.

Subnautica 2 devs aren't "judging players who want combat," but it isn't happening: "Subnautica has always been built around vulnerability"

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Anna KoselkeStaff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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