Adventure · January 23, 2018

Subnautica (2018)

Subnautica (2018) scores 97% positive on Steam from 313.7k reviews, 87 Metacritic, developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment.

trophy17 achievementsextension1 DLClocal_offer-75% current discountgroup10M–100M ownerstrending_up2.7k peak concurrentrecommend300.4k recommendations

Subnautica (2018) is a Adventure title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment available on Windows, macOS. The title carries a 97% Steam positive rating across 313.7k reviews, a 87/100 Metacritic score, and 2.7k peak concurrent players — making it a measurable reference point when comparing to peers in the Adventure category.

Subnautica is an underwater adventure game set on an alien ocean planet. A massive, open world full of wonder and peril awaits you! Dive Into a Vast Underwater World You have crash-landed on an alien ocean world, and the only way to go is down. Subnautica’s oceans range from sun drenched shallow coral reefs to treacherous deep-sea trenches, lava fields, and bio-luminescent underwater rivers. Manage your oxygen supply as you explore kelp forests, plateaus, reefs, and winding cave systems. The water teems with life: Some of it helpful, much of it harmful. Scavenge, Craft, and Survive After crash landing in your Life Pod, the clock is ticking to find water, food, and to develop the equipment you need to explore. Collect resources from the ocean around you. Craft diving gear, lights, habitat modules, and submersibles. Venture deeper and further form to find rarer resources, allowing you to craft more advanced items. Construct Underwater Habitats Build bases on the sea floor. Choose layouts and components, and manage hull-integrity as depth and pressure increase. Use your base to store resources, park vehicles, and replenish oxygen supplies as you explore the vast ocean. Unravel the Mystery What happened to this planet? Signs abound that something is not right. What caused you to crash? What is infecting the sea life? Who built the mysterious structures scattered around the ocean? Can you find a way to make it off the planet alive? Disrupt the Food Chain The ocean teems with life: Use the ecosystem to help you. Lure and distract a threatening creature with a fresh fish, or simply swim as fast as you can to avoid gnashing jaws of roaming predators. Handle the Pressure Build a Pressure Re-Active Waterproof Nanosuit, or PRAWN Suit, and explore extreme depth and heat. Modify the suit with mining drills, torpedo launchers, propulsion cannons, grappling hooks and more. Fear the Night As the sun goes down, the predators come out. The ocean is unforgiving of those caught unprepared in the darkness. Areas that are safe to explore during the day become treacherous at night, but also reveal a beauty that those who hide from the darkness will never see. Dive Below the Ocean Floor Cave systems wind below the sea bed, from dark claustrophobic passages to caverns lit by bio-luminescent life and burning-hot lava flows. Explore the world below the ocean floor, but watch your oxygen levels, and take care to avoid the threats lurking in the darkness. About the Development Team Subnautica is being created by Unknown Worlds, a small studio founded by Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire that traces its roots back to the 2003 Half-Life mod Natural Selection. The team is scattered around the globe, from the United States to the United Kingdom, France, the Czech Republic, Russia, Thailand, Australia, and many more places. There is a central office in San Francisco, California that serves as home base for the whole team. Warning This game contains flashing lights that may make it unsuitable for people with photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitive conditions. Player discretion is advised.

Release & Availability

Release date Jan 23, 2018
Developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Base price $7.49 -75%
DLC / Add-ons 1 released
Platforms Windows, macOS
Estimated owners 10M–100M
External links Official site · Metacritic page · Support

Release timeline

Subnautica launched on Jan 23, 2018.

Studio and publishing

The title was developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment.

Platform support

Playable natively on Windows, macOS.

Packages & editions

  • Buy Subnautica

Reception & Reviews

Steam community score

Steam users rate Subnautica 97% positive across 313.7k reviews — categorised as Overwhelmingly Positive.

304.3k positive · 9.4k negative

Critic consensus (Metacritic)

Critics aggregated on Metacritic awarded a 87/100 score.

Read the critics →

User score

Metacritic user score stands at 8.5/10.

Curator & community recommendations

Steam curators and players have issued 300.4k recommendations for this title.

Peak concurrent players

Peak concurrent Steam players reached 2.7k — a measurement of how active the playerbase got at launch or during a surge.

Gameplay Profile

Genres

  • Adventure
  • Indie

Community tag consensus

  • Open World Survival Craft · 7.6k
  • Survival · 7.5k
  • Horror · 6.7k
  • Open World · 6.3k
  • Underwater · 6.3k
  • Exploration · 6.2k
  • Crafting · 5.2k
  • Base-Building · 5.1k
  • Singleplayer · 5.0k
  • Adventure · 4.2k
  • First-Person · 4.2k
  • Sci-fi · 3.5k

Playtime profile

Community average playtime is 32 hours, with a median of 15 hours — a moderate (15–40 hours) commitment. Two-week average sits at 6 hours per active player.

Steam achievements

The title ships with 17 Steam achievements to unlock.

Languages supported

Interface / subtitles: English, French, German, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish, Finnish, Italian, Czech, Hungarian, Spanish – Spain.

Full audio: English, Slovak.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Subnautica released?

Subnautica was released on Jan 23, 2018 by Unknown Worlds Entertainment.

Is Subnautica worth playing?

Based on 313.7k Steam reviews, Subnautica holds a 97% positive rating (Overwhelmingly Positive) — suggesting the game resonates with most players who try it.

What platforms does Subnautica support?

Subnautica runs natively on Windows, macOS.

How much does Subnautica cost?

Base price on Steam is $7.49 (before seasonal discounts).

What Metacritic score did Subnautica receive?

Critics rated Subnautica 87/100 on Metacritic.