Subnautica 2 system requirements revealed: a GTX 1660 gets you in the water
Subnautica 2 launches into Early Access on May 14, 2026, and developer Unknown Worlds has now published the full system requirements. The entry price is $29.99 / £25.99 — with a confirmed price increase when the game hits version 1.0 — and the minimum spec is a GTX 1660 with 12GB of RAM, a bar most gaming PCs built since 2019 can clear. PlayStation 5 players, however, are locked out entirely at launch.
The specs
Unknown Worlds released these requirements without assuming any upscaling tech like DLSS or FSR — meaning the numbers reflect native rendering. That's a more honest baseline than some recent releases have offered. At minimum settings you get 1080p at 30fps; the recommended tier targets 1440p/60fps on medium with an RTX 3070 or RX 6700 XT and 16GB RAM.
| Tier | GPU | RAM | Target | |---|---|---|---| | Minimum | GTX 1660 / RX 5500 XT | 12 GB | 1080p / 30 fps / Low | | Recommended | RTX 3070 / RX 6700 XT | 16 GB | 1440p / 60 fps / Medium | | Ultra | RTX 4070 / RX 6900 XT | 32 GB | 1440p / 60 fps / High | | Ultra+ | RTX 5070 Ti / RX 7900 XTX | 32 GB | 4K / 60 fps / High |
The jump to 32GB RAM for the Ultra tier may frustrate buyers targeting the upper-mid range — that's a meaningful upgrade cost at a $29.99 entry price. Storage is a flat 50GB across all tiers; a standard hard drive works at minimum, so SSD isn't mandatory to start.
Because this is Early Access, the developers note requirements may change — almost certainly upward as content is added over the expected two-to-three year development window.
Subnautica 2 system requirements — confirmed without upscaling or frame generation.
Where to play — and who's left out
Subnautica 2 will be available on Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, and Xbox Series X/S. It's on Xbox Game Pass day one via Game Preview. The Steam Early Access Store Page lists no PS5 version, and there's no indication Sony support is coming — the Game Preview program is incompatible with PlayStation, which is the same reason the original Subnautica skipped Sony platforms in its early phase.
The game supports two-to-four player co-op. You crash-land on a new ocean world under orders from the Alterra Corporation, and — predictably — the mission goes sideways. Base building returns, now designed around cooperative play from the ground up.
Background worth knowing
The road here was bumpy. Publisher Krafton attempted to delay the game in 2025 in a move per GamerMarkt connected to avoiding a $250 million bonus payout to Unknown Worlds. A Delaware court ordered the reinstatement of CEO Ted Gill in March 2026. The May 14 launch proceeding on schedule suggests that dispute is at least functionally resolved, though tensions between the two companies have been public. Unknown Worlds has committed to no DLC, battle passes, or loot boxes during Early Access.
