'The team has weathered a lot': Subnautica 2 design lead says the community kept the dev team going 'when it was at its hardest'

Considering the months of turmoil surrounding the development of Subnautica 2, it's not just exciting that the undersea survival game is finally launching into early access next week on May 14—it's a minor miracle.

But while the legal battle between publisher Krafton and the founders of developer Unknown Worlds was incredibly loud and extremely public, we haven't heard anything from the people actually making the sequel amidst all that courtroom drama.

Subnautica 2's design lead Anthony Gallegos finally—and quite diplomatically, I've gotta say—let a tiny little bit of it loose in the latest devlog posted today on YouTube. Gallegos doesn't say anything specific about the lawsuits (plural), but it's at least interesting to hear one of the development team acknowledge that working amidst that protracted public battle wasn't all that easy.

"As some of you know, the team has weathered a lot," Gallegos said, making a strong opening bid for understatement of the year.

"But let me be clear about something. Despite any rough patches, our goal has always remained the same, to deliver the best Subnautica experience we can," he said.

"When it was at its hardest, two things kept us going. One is the excitement of working on the next Subnautica game, and what we have is really special. The other is you," Gallegos said. "Your endless enthusiasm and excitement drives us to deliver something worthy of the name."

In the video, Gallegos says that Subnautica 2 will be in early access for at least two years and while "what we have on day one is the most ambitious starting point we've ever had," players can expect a "strong playable foundation" but also bugs, an unpolished experience, and the lack of a full story.

That said, buying the game in early access means you'll get "all our content up to 1.0 release and beyond," Gallegos said. Subnautica 2 will cost $29.99 when it launches next week.

"When you buy the game, you don't just support the franchise, you support Unknown Worlds and all the employees who help bring this to life," Gallegos. "Welcome aboard, Captains."

You can watch the full devlog below.

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