Subnautica 2 is a multiplayer-focused live-service sport, writer Krafton has revealed.
Writing in its newest monetary report, Krafton described Subnautica 2 as a “multiplayer sequel to the unique IP pursuing fandom snowballing”, which is a garbled method of describing the sport.
Krafton mentioned Subnautica 2 lets gamers “discover an oceanic world in gorgeous stylized graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5”, with “single or one to 4 participant co-op to uncover the mysteries on a wholly new alien planet”, alongside a “game-as-a-service mannequin with enhanced replayability.”
Subnautica is a massively profitable indie sport that first emerged in 2018, then noticed a follow-up, dubbed Beneath Zero, in 2021. IGN’s Subnautica overview returned a 9/10. We mentioned: “Subnautica’s a survival sport with focus and a very good sci-fi story, however its best achievement is its underwater horror.”
We have been equally impressed with Beneath Zero: “Subnautica: Beneath Zero is a leaner, meaner standalone growth to Subnautica that improves on the story and mechanics, however does not give us as a lot room to discover,” we mentioned. Subnautica and Beneath Zero are single-player sport, though modders added multiplayer post-launch.
The business seems to be battling live-service video games after a quantity or latest efforts failed to maneuver the needle and a few have been even cancelled earlier than launch. Maybe most notably, Sony canned Naughty Canine’s The Final of Us multiplayer sport amid a extra common pull again on live-service at PlayStation. Naughty Canine will now give attention to single-player video games.
Beforehand profitable live-service video games have additionally hit arduous occasions. Bungie’s Future 2 has struggled commercially, and Fortnite maker Epic has introduced big layoffs. In the meantime, some single-player solely video games noticed huge success in 2023, with the likes of Hogwarts Legacy and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom blowing up gross sales data. Rocksteady’s not too long ago launched Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League suffered forward of launch for its affiliation with the live-service mannequin.
As for Subnautica 2, it’s down for launch in some unspecified time in the future in 2024, which suggests Krafton will reveal it sooner relatively than later. It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how its live-service mannequin works.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.