Subnautica 2 might finally be entering early access in May

Subnautica 2 has weathered the storm and has rescheduled its early access release. IGN reported today that the sequel to the underwater survival game will begin early access on PC and Xbox in May, although a more specific date was not provided.

The news comes a day after a judge ruled that former Unknown Worlds Entertainment CEO Ted Gill should be rehired at the game studio. That decision capped off a dramatic year for the team behind Subnautica, which was acquired by Krafton in 2021. The studio and its new owners entered a legal battle because the purchase of Unknown Worlds included a promise of an up to $250 million payout from Krafton if the team met certain performance goals by the end of 2025. In July of that year, however, Krafton fired several studio leaders and then delayed the sequel’s early access launch. The court case has raised questions about which side was trying to either secure or avoid making that multi-million payment.

With yesterday’s ruling, a rep from Krafton said that “we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward.” It’s unclear if that path, or the other litigation still underway over the project, will create further delays to the planned early access date.