{"id":1579319,"date":"2026-05-15T07:20:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/6TnqYWWfEovnwQXDxsaxbT"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:20:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:20:54","slug":"subnautica-2-pulls-over-370000-concurrent-players-in-its-first-30-minutes-on-steam-as-it-cannonballs-into-early-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/subnautica-2-pulls-over-370000-concurrent-players-in-its-first-30-minutes-on-steam-as-it-cannonballs-into-early-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Subnautica 2 pulls over 370,000 concurrent players in its first 30 minutes on Steam as it cannonballs into early access"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Considering the length of its tenure as Steam’s most-wishlisted game, it was safe to suspect that Subnautica 2<\/a> would draw a crowd. Now that its early access launch day is here, those suspicions have been thoroughly validated: Less than an hour after launch, its oceans are already packed with eager explorers.<\/p>\n

Within moments of Subnautica 2’s launch time at 11 am Eastern, there were over 100,000 players in-game according to SteamDB data<\/a>. 30 minutes later, that number had more than tripled to over 370,000 concurrent players.<\/p>\n

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\"Subnautica<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: SteamDB)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At time of writing, at 11:44 am Eastern, that number has crested another watermark: Steam’s own Most Played chart<\/a> lists 426,000 users currently playing Subnautica 2, meaning it’s currently the fourth most popular game on the platform behind Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, and Dota 2.<\/p>\n

To put those numbers in context, Subnautica 2’s concurrent player count is already in the neighborhood of Silksong’s launch concurrent peak of 562,000\u2014and it’s done so without the benefit of Silksanity-induced collective mania<\/a>. These are users being organically drawn by the siren call of a terrifying alien ocean.<\/p>\n

It’s a clear sign of a successful launch, but there are probably some at Krafton that aren’t entirely thrilled: In July 2025, the publisher placed itself in a messy legal dispute<\/a> by abruptly driving out Unknown Worlds’ CEO and founders, a decision we later learned was informed by Krafton CEO Changhan Kim consulting ChatGPT about how to avoid paying the studio’s leadership an agreed-upon $250 million bonus contingent on Subnautica 2’s sales success.<\/p>\n

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\"Divers\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Krafton)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In March 2026, a judge ruled that the dismissal of Unknown Worlds leadership constituted a breach of contract and ordered its CEO’s reinstatement<\/a> in a decision that extended the studio’s timeline for earning that $250 million bonus by nine months. At this point, it’s unclear whether they’ll need that extra time.<\/p>\n

FOREVERGREENS<\/h2>\n
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