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Metro 2039Launch Hotfixes
Subnautica 2 got three hotfixes in its first three weeks of Early Access, on May 19, May 22 and Jun 1, 2026, which fixed crashes, calmed Hammerheads, added Silver and Troilite areas and revised the disputed Terms of Service, before Unknown Worlds paused rapid hotfixes on Jun 4.
Subnautica 2 received three hotfixes in its first three weeks of Early Access: Hotfix 1 on May 19, Hotfix 2 on May 22 and Hotfix 3 on Jun 1, 2026. Between them they fixed launch crashes, changed how analytics start, revised a Terms of Service that players had attacked, added Silver and Troilite areas, made Hammerheads leave Tadpoles alone and retuned the Marrowbreach and Nibblers. In the same weeks Unknown Worlds published a letter apologizing for comments that made players "feel ignored or dismissed", promising creature balance work but keeping the series' no-weapons design. On Jun 4 it said it would stop the rapid hotfixes and focus on the Adaptive Measures Update. Later hotfixes are on Updates and Patch Notes.
Quick facts
| Hotfix 1 | May 19, 2026, 5 days after launch |
| Letter to the Community | May 20, 2026 |
| Hotfix 2 | May 22, 2026, with the revised Terms of Service and Privacy Policy |
| Hotfix 3 | Jun 1, 2026, DLSS 4.5 |
| End of rapid hotfixes | Dev Vlog Swimming Forward, Jun 4, 2026 |
| Next patch | Early Access 1.1 Adaptive Measures, Jul 8, 2026 |
Hotfix 1 (May 19, 2026)
The first hotfix arrived five days after the May 14 launch. It updated the crash-on-startup pop-up for AMD graphics cards and DirectX 12 problems to give more guidance, fixed an infrequent crash in the Ping feature, turned analytics on only after a player accepts the Terms of Service, and cut the amount of data sent to backend services. It reminded players that analytics can be turned off at any time in Settings, and it promised changes to the Terms of Service and an FAQ "in the near future". Xbox got it after certification. See Known Issues and Fixes.
The Terms of Service controversy
At launch players objected to Subnautica 2's terms. GamingBolt, crediting IGN with first reporting it, wrote on May 20, 2026 that the EULA reportedly banned VPN use, claimed that the studio and Krafton owned any mods made for the game, and forbade players from harming the "reputation" of Krafton or Subnautica 2. Players called it overreach. Hotfix 1 promised changes without saying what they would be.
Hotfix 2 brought the revision. The rewritten Terms of Service sections were the Preamble, Limited License, Gameplay Videos, Prohibited Uses, Ownership, Section Title, Player-Submitted Content, Limitation of Liability, and Transfer of Terms and Conditions. The Privacy Policy's Privacy Notice, What Information Do We Collect, How We Share Your Information, and Security of Your Information sections changed too. Every player is asked to accept the terms again at next start, and they take effect at once or after any notice period local law requires. Unknown Worlds also published an FAQ and Fan Content Creator Guidelines. What the new wording says about mods was not read for this page. See Mods and Krafton Lawsuit for the separate dispute between Krafton and the studio's founders.
The May 20 letter on creature aggression
Players' strongest complaint in the first week was predators. In A Letter to the Community on May 20, Unknown Worlds wrote that "creature balance needs work", that some encounters felt "more frustrating than tense or exciting", and that mitigation tools were not always "clear, reliable, or satisfying". It promised changes to aggression timing, aggro range, flare effectiveness, Survival Tool effectiveness, and how creatures treat vehicles and bases, over a series of patches. Hotfixes 2 and 3 began that work, and 1.1 made most creatures flee the Multitool and reel from the Sonic Resonator.
The letter also apologized because "some recent comments from our team made players feel ignored or dismissed". Notebookcheck reported the comment behind it: level designer Artyom O'Reily had told a player on the official Discord, "We aren't a killing game", suggesting Sons of the Forest for anyone who wanted to kill.
Why are there no weapons in Subnautica 2?
The letter answered requests to kill hostile creatures directly. It said the stance does not judge players who want combat, but that the series has always been "built around vulnerability, exploration, and survival" rather than weapon-based combat, and that the design only works if encounters feel "fair, readable, and engaging". Subnautica 2 has no weapons as of Nov 4, 2026; flares, the Survival Multitool, the Sonic and Feedback Resonators and stealth are the defenses. A community mod, Killable Creatures, lets tools damage creatures (see Mods). See Dangerous Creatures and Game Modes.
Hotfix 2 (May 22, 2026)
Beyond the terms, Hotfix 2 made these changes:
- More Silver resource areas in the early game region and more Troilite areas in the late game region.
- Hammerheads are no longer so drawn to Tadpole lights. They had followed players home and waited at bases trying to reach the Tadpole.
- Fixed players occasionally being teleported back to base while exploring in a Tadpole.
- Fixed infinite oxygen after dying of hunger or thirst while piloting a Tadpole.
- Fixed a crash on losing connection from a multiplayer game and a random crash in the late game region.
- Better performance at Epic visual settings.
- A callout that telemetry can be turned off in Settings, in English first.
The post said more work on creature balance and graphics performance would follow "in the coming weeks".
Hotfix 3 (Jun 1, 2026)
Hotfix 3 fixed DLSS crashes, DLSS settings not saving and Frame Generation missing in some versions, and upgraded DLSS to version 4.5. It made the balance changes below, fixed a rare crash when starting games, fixed co-op clients snapping back to an old position when rejoining, fixed the Strike Armor modification stacking additively (which could break a game), fixed goggles staying visible after leaving the Haul chassis as a passenger, localized the callout on the Terms of Service screen, and added context to crash reports.
| Creature or item | Change in Hotfix 3 |
|---|---|
| Interior Wall | Cost cut to 1/4 of the previous price |
| Hammerhead | No longer attacks unpiloted Tadpoles, though it can still take an interest; reliably drawn to Flares again |
| Marrowbreach | More damage, attacks spaced out to come less often |
| Nibbler | Shorter perception range, circles longer before attacking, slower, more sensitive to the Multitool, more damage |
Source for the table: Hotfix 3, Jun 1, 2026. See Creatures and Crafting Recipes (recipe lists from launch week predate the Interior Wall change).
The Jun 4 move away from rapid hotfixes
In Dev Vlog: Swimming Forward, the first since launch, Design Lead Anthony Gallegos thanked players and said the team would pivot from the "frequent, rapid hotfixes" it had shipped since launch to focus on update 1.1, due "in a few weeks". It came on Jul 8. In the same vlog, PCGamesN reported, Gallegos teased a new region and a chassis that would "get stompy"; those are now planned for Early Access 2. See Dev Vlogs.
Frequently asked questions
What did Subnautica 2 Hotfix 1 change? Subnautica 2 Hotfix 1, May 19, 2026, improved AMD and DirectX 12 crash guidance, fixed a Ping crash, started analytics only after the Terms of Service are accepted, and sent less data to servers.
What did Subnautica 2 Hotfix 2 change? Subnautica 2 Hotfix 2, May 22, 2026, added Silver and Troilite areas, made Hammerheads stop following Tadpole lights, fixed an infinite oxygen bug and two crashes, and revised the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
What did Subnautica 2 Hotfix 3 change? Subnautica 2 Hotfix 3, Jun 1, 2026, fixed DLSS crashes, upgraded DLSS to 4.5, cut Interior Wall cost to a quarter, and retuned Hammerheads, Marrowbreaches and Nibblers.
Why did Subnautica 2 change its Terms of Service? Players objected that Subnautica 2's launch terms reportedly banned VPNs, claimed ownership of mods and forbade harming Krafton's reputation; Unknown Worlds revised the terms in Hotfix 2 on May 22, 2026.
Will Subnautica 2 add weapons? Not as planned. In its May 20, 2026 letter Unknown Worlds said Subnautica 2 is built around vulnerability rather than weapon-based combat, and promised fairer creature encounters instead.
Why did Subnautica 2 stop releasing hotfixes so often? On Jun 4, 2026 Unknown Worlds said Subnautica 2 would move from rapid hotfixes to focus on the 1.1 update, which came on Jul 8.
Sources
- Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 1, Unknown Worlds, May 19, 2026
- Subnautica 2's First Early Access Hotfix Promises Changes to Terms of Service, GamingBolt (Joelle Daniels), May 20, 2026
- A Letter to the Community from the Subnautica 2 Team, Unknown Worlds, May 20, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 2, Unknown Worlds, May 22, 2026
- Dev says "go play Sons of the Forest" to Subnautica 2 players furious over no weapons, Notebookcheck (Rahim Amir Noorali), May 23, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 3, Unknown Worlds, Jun 1, 2026
- Dev Vlog - Swimming Forward, Unknown Worlds, Jun 4, 2026
- Subnautica 2's next region will be its "scariest" yet, PCGamesN (Ken Allsop), Jun 4, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures Update, Unknown Worlds, Jul 8, 2026
- Subnautica 2 | Dev Vlog - Swimming Forward, Subnautica, Jun 4, 2026 (video)
Moments
Subnautica 2 | Dev Vlog - Swimming Forward
Subnautica
Related
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Dev VlogsUnknown Worlds has published Subnautica 2 Dev Vlogs since Apr 24, 2025, seven before launch, then Update Vlogs for 1.1 and 1.2 and the Voyage to Early Access 2 series (Oct 15, Oct 22 and Nov 3, 2026), plus the Waterside Q&A and the May 9, 2026 Pre-Launch Showcase.
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Early Access 2Early Access 2 is Subnautica 2's next big content update, due in December 2026 with no day announced. Unknown Worlds promises a new region with several biomes, more of the colonists' and Axum story, new and returning creatures, a scarier Collector Leviathan, new Biomods and the Frog chassis for the Tadpole.
- Experimental BranchSubnautica 2's Experimental branch is an opt-in Steam beta, launched Aug 12, 2026, that previews upcoming updates shortly before release; join it under Properties, Game Versions & Betas, and expect separate, incompatible saves.
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Base PowerSubnautica 2 bases run on Solar Panels (1 to 8 energy per second by time of day), Hydroelectric Turbines in water currents, Thermal Plants by heat vents and Bioreactors burning fuel, linked by Power Transmitters and buffered by Power Storage. Without power a base makes no oxygen.
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Best Base LocationsThe guides' best base spots in Subnautica 2 are a plateau by a water current about 200 m east of the Lifepod for free turbine power, the thermal vents about 630 m east for steady Thermal Plant power, and an outpost near the Alien Ruins about 1,150 m east for the late game.
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FarmingFarming in Subnautica 2 means Growbeds, built for Titanium x1, that grow plants from a seed item such as a Pent, Lucifer Rotsac or Fibrous Pulp, and since update 1.2 Necrolei Cysts. The Metal Farm, an Axum machine, grows a chosen resource on base power.
See also
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Adaptive Measures UpdateAdaptive Measures is Subnautica 2's Early Access 1.1 update, released Jul 8, 2026: a quality-of-life patch that added the FOV slider, two more Biolabs and six unlockable Biomods, sprinting on land, wreck puzzles and calmer creature reactions.
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Updates and Patch NotesThe latest Subnautica 2 patch is Buddy System Hotfix 2 (Oct 6, 2026), after two content updates, Early Access 1.1 Adaptive Measures (Jul 8) and 1.2 Buddy System (Aug 19), and six hotfixes; Early Access 2 is due in December 2026.
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Known Issues and FixesSubnautica 2's common problems in Early Access are start-up crashes on AMD and DirectX 12, DLSS crashes, saves that seem to vanish after a crash, mods breaking after an update and Angel Combs that would not open; most were fixed by patches through Buddy System Hotfix 2 (Oct 6, 2026). This page lists each issue, the patch that fixed it and what to do.
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ModsSubnautica 2 has no official mod support as of Nov 4, 2026, but PC players run community mods, most through the UE4SS loader, such as Comfort Tweaks and Killable Creatures; Unknown Worlds asks players to disable mods before every update.
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Krafton LawsuitThe Subnautica 2 lawsuit was a dispute between Krafton and Unknown Worlds' former leaders over a $250 million earnout tied to the game. A Delaware court reinstated CEO Ted Gill in March 2026, and the two sides settled on Jul 1, 2026.
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Dangerous CreaturesSubnautica 2's dangerous creatures below Leviathan size are the Marrowbreach, Hammerhead, Nibbler Mango, Needler Mango, Bullethead, Twin Sitaray, Sandspear, Foureye, Bloom Parasite and Tongue Thief; none can be killed, so you deter them with the Survival Multitool, the Sonic Resonator and flares.