Subnautica 2 Improvements On The Way, But No, You Can’t Fight The Fish

Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has addressed community feedback following the game’s early access launch on May 14, outlining improvements while firmly ruling out the addition of combat mechanics. The game has proven wildly successful, selling 1 million copies and breaking the original game’s early access player peak count.

A significant point of contention has emerged around player requests for weapons to fight hostile alien creatures. While acknowledging the “strong request” for combat, Unknown Worlds remains committed to its design philosophy that Subnautica 2 is not a killing game. The studio wants players “to exist on this planet, not dominate it.”

The developers have identified predator encounters as a key area of feedback, noting they come across as “more frustrating than tense or exciting” due to insufficient avoidance and mitigation tools. Rather than adding weapons, Unknown Worlds plans to improve the game’s creature behavior, aggression levels, aggro ranges, and survival tools like flares. The studio acknowledged that when defensive tools feel ineffective, it’s natural for players to want combat solutions—but Subnautica 2 is fundamentally built around “vulnerability, exploration, and survival.”

Unknown Worlds has apologized for recent staff comments on the combat debate. The developers outlined three key improvement areas for early access: creature balance and behavior, the effectiveness of survival tools, and their approach to community feedback. These changes are expected in the near future as the game continues its early access period.

Sources

• Subnautica 2 Improvements On The Way, But No, You Can’t Fight The Fish
• Subnautica 2 Improvements On The Way, But No, You Can’t Fight The Fish
• Subnautica 2 Outlines Changes Coming to the Game in Response to No Killing Fish Debate
• Subnautica 2 Devs Outline ‘Three Areas’ That Will Be Improved in Early Access
• Subnautica 2 devs have heard your ‘strong request’ for combat, but it’s not going to happen: ‘Subnautica has always been built around vulnerability, exploration, and survival’
• It’s not you, would-be Subnautica 2 fish murderers, it’s our creature encounters not feeling “fair, readable, and engaging” enough, say Unknown Worlds