Adaptive Measures Update

0:09 Adaptive Measures is Subnautica 2's Early Access 1.1 update, released Jul 8, 2026 as a free download, and its headline is "the much-requested FOV slider" among "a ton of quality-of-life fixes". It was the first content update after the May 14 launch, the "focused improvements" update the May 15 roadmap had promised. Beyond the FOV slider it reworked early Biomods progression, added traversal and oxygen puzzles to wrecks, let players sprint on land, made most creatures back off when hit, stopped audiologs auto-playing, and fixed a long list of performance problems. Executive Producer Fernando Melo said the team "focused on refining the early-game experience and core systems". Hotfix 4 followed six days later. It added no new biome or creature.

Quick facts

FOV slider and settings

4:22 The update added a FOV slider to Settings, marked as a change from community feedback. Until then the field of view was fixed at 90, and PC players changed it only with the Comfort Tweaks mod. On Xbox the slider did not show at first; Hotfix 4 fixed that. Other settings fixes: Underwater Blur now stays off when toggled off, the Profanity Filter no longer resets to On each session, the TSR min and max sliders show the right values, non-graphics changes wait for confirmation, Nvidia gaming laptops are no longer capped at 60 fps, and handheld devices no longer show mouse-and-keyboard prompts on first launch. A Discord button and a support site button joined the Main Menu. The clip is Aci's Jul 8, 2026 look at the 1.1 build, opening the new slider in Settings. See Settings and Accessibility.

Biolabs and Biomods

5:15 Biomod progression was "smoothed out" through the early game. Two more Biolabs went in, one in the Coral Gardens and one in the Axum Ruins, so players can now unlock six Biomods from Biolabs instead of four. Scanning creatures with the Bioscanner now unlocks extra passive Biomod slots, and the Biolab shows how many scans each slot needs and the player's total Bioscans, with badges on newly unlocked items. Creative mode now unlocks every Biomod from the start, and the save system was updated to keep Biomods unlocked before the patch. Fixes let players unpin Biomod recipes and made the Camouflage Biomod work when still on the surface or attached to a Tadpole. In Aci's Jul 8, 2026 video on the 1.1 build, the Biolab's slot screen asks for 10, 20, 40 and 80 Bioscans, he calls six passive slots the current maximum, and only one active Biomod can still be equipped. See Biomods and Adaptations.

Wrecks

2:35 Wrecks got additional traversal and oxygen puzzles, more consistent markings on doors and buttons, and rewards moved or added to fit the new puzzles, with general cleanup of wreck environments. In Aci's Jul 8, 2026 video on the 1.1 build, a wreck room that had been empty now held Nibblers and more crates to hide behind. Guides written on the launch build may place wreck rewards where they no longer are; see Blueprints and Scanning.

Sprinting and movement

0:15 Players can now sprint out of the water, on the surface or in their base, with a default sprint binding that can be remapped. The default walk speed went down to balance it. Third-person animation on land improved, and characters gained eye blinks and eye tracking.

Creatures and the Bloom

1:18 Two changes came straight from player feedback about creature aggression, which the studio had addressed in its May 20 letter. Most creatures now flee properly when hit by the Survival Multitool, and most are briefly dizzy after a Sonic Resonator hit; in both cases they fight back only defensively for a while afterward. The Bloom Parasite's behavior was improved and it became "the primary encounter creature", and the Bloom encounter in the Coral Gardens and Ruins was rebalanced to fit progression. The creature naming and discovery system was revised "to align with the previous game". Fish group better and no longer get stuck in place. The Sandspear now attacks correctly when unburied, and the Shiver Leviathan attacks non-host players in co-op, which it failed to do before. See Creatures and Dangerous Creatures.

Resources

3:33 Coral Gardens got further Silver updates and a hint line plays near Silver areas, with a temporary radio effect until final voice-over. In Aci's Jul 8, 2026 video on the 1.1 build the hint shows as a PDA line, "Silver ions detected in nearby sea caves. Silver is a key component in air tank filters." Several resources got the correct Resonatable and Breakable data. Fixes covered Silver nook pickups, two overlapping Copper nodes in the cave near the Old Habitat, a missing PDA pop-up when scanning Troilite, Sulfur not found by the Scanner Station in a Heat Zone of the Overgrown Ruins, and a Quartz Crystal node in the Shallows that could not be gathered. See Silver and Resources.

Base building

Changes to Base Building from the patch notes:

Fixes covered Growbeds on base roofs that could not be deconstructed, base pieces that stayed undeconstructable after their attachments were removed, the Collector sometimes building ghost pieces instead of removing them, and power displays going wrong after a save and load with two bases joined by a Power Transmitter. The docked Tadpole no longer shifts position after loading. See Base Power and Tadpole.

Audiologs and voice

2:21 Audiologs no longer auto-play. In co-op one player could set them off for everyone, so now an unlocked audiolog gives a notification and goes into the PDA, where it can be replayed at any time, only for that player, and keeps playing after the PDA closes. A dialogue priority system now picks which line plays so that several do not talk over each other. The Lifepod cutscene gained music, and fixes stopped it stuttering, softlocking when F8 was pressed or the player jumped, and leaving players behind in the starting area. See Story and Lore.

Xbox and privacy

Xbox players without Game Pass now see a notice when they open multiplayer, because "a Game Pass subscription (any tier) is required" to play online there, and Xbox gained an option to report other users. The Privacy Policy's sections on what is collected and shared were revised to cover voice data for the coming Proximity Chat. See Platforms and Cross-Play and Co-op and Multiplayer.

Performance

Fixes in 1.1 targeted performance that fell over time in the Metal Farms, dashing on the surface that spawned too many particles, particle-heavy Macaron Sponge and Cage Gorgon effects, costly Tadpole destruction and spawning, character animation and collision checks, flickering lights in foggy caves, a crash on exiting from the Main Menu, and a crash loading saves from an earlier version. See Known Issues and Fixes and System Requirements.

Hotfix 4 (Jul 14, 2026)

Hotfix 4 fixed five problems left after 1.1:

• Angel Combs not opening for some players, which blocked progression.
• Water currents inside player bases, which pushed players, trapped them or stopped them building.
• The FOV slider missing on Xbox.
• A crash on Xbox when joining from a session invite.
• A crash related to creature spawning.

It was the first post to remind players to turn off Mods before launching an updated build, and it reached Xbox after certification.

Frequently asked questions

When did the Subnautica 2 Adaptive Measures update come out? Subnautica 2's Early Access 1.1 update, Adaptive Measures, came out on Jul 8, 2026, with Hotfix 4 on Jul 14.

Does Subnautica 2 have an FOV slider? Yes. Subnautica 2 has had a FOV slider in Settings since update 1.1 on Jul 8, 2026, and on Xbox since Hotfix 4 on Jul 14.

How many Biomods can you unlock in Subnautica 2 after 1.1? After update 1.1, Subnautica 2 players can unlock six Biomods from Biolabs, up from four, and earn extra passive slots by scanning creatures.

Can you sprint in Subnautica 2? Since update 1.1 Subnautica 2 lets players sprint out of the water, on the surface or in a base, with a remappable key.

Did Adaptive Measures add new biomes or creatures to Subnautica 2? No. Adaptive Measures changed systems and fixed bugs; the new region and creatures are planned for Early Access 2 in December 2026.

Sources

• Subnautica 2 Early Access Roadmap, Unknown Worlds, May 15, 2026
• A Letter to the Community from the Subnautica 2 Team, Unknown Worlds, May 20, 2026
• How to Change FOV in Subnautica 2, Game Rant (Mehrdad Khayyat), May 17, 2026
• Update Vlog - Early Access 1.1 (Adaptive Measures), Unknown Worlds, Jul 7, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures Update, Unknown Worlds, Jul 8, 2026
• Subnautica 2 releases first Early Access update as sales surpass 5 million, Game Developer (press release), Jul 9, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 4, Unknown Worlds, Jul 14, 2026
• Subnautica 2 | Update Vlog : Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures, Subnautica, Jul 7, 2026 (video)
• ALL important changes in the new Subnautica 2 update! | Subnautica 2 News #1, Aci, Jul 8, 2026 (video)