Unknown Worlds Unveils Unexpected Updates for Subnautica and Below Zero

On August 12, the folks over at Unknown Worlds tossed out some fresh updates for Subnautica and its chilly sibling, Subnautica: Below Zero. Weirdly, the first Subnautica game now lets you use controllers if you’re playing on Steam or Epic Games. Not sure why this feature wasn’t there before—kinda odd if you ask me—but hey, better late than never, I suppose.

Oh, speaking of odd things, let me sidetrack a bit: I saw this image of Sea Treaders once, and it somehow reminded me of an underwater dance party. No clue why, but it stuck with me. Anyway—

So, what kicked up a fuss is that after booting their co-founders, Unknown Worlds got tangled in a courtroom dance with Krafton over Subnautica 2’s delay. Like, Krafton supposedly pushed things to 2026 to skip out on a big payout. Messy, right? Yeah, Krafton lawyered up and tossed their side of the story out there on August 12.

Meanwhile, back in update land, Subnautica players on PC can now plug in their PS5 DualSense or Xbox controllers and just dive right in. Some geeky Unity input update made that happen, which—let’s be real—is tech speak for "we upgraded some stuff." The game even ironed out bugs that made it freeze. Ah, game glitches, aren’t they just like sneaky little ghosts?

Below Zero fans, don’t feel left out—the update spruced up the Snowfox land vehicle, fixing its collision quirks and whatnot. Oh, there’s a snazzy new pop-up news feed now too. So they can ping you with announcements, like, in-game. Kinda neat, if you’re into staying in the know while submerged in another world.

Nintendo Switch folks, though, you’re in limbo until more updates roll out. Unknown Worlds did mumble something about future patches, so fingers crossed there.

Lastly, there’s still chatter about Unknown Worlds supporting the first couple Subnauticas despite Subnautica 2’s murky future. Feels like there’s a lot brewing beneath the waves—both in-game and out. Wonder what kinda surprise updates’ll pop up next?

Patch Notes, August Edition:

Subnautica (PC & Console):

• New pop-up newsfeed—random alerts, hopefully not spam!
• Bug fix: Alien Arch portal antics resolved.
• Floating Leviathans? Not anymore.
• Fixed a bunch that made your game act weird.

Subnautica: Below Zero:

• Snowfox vehicle’s got a makeover, more fun, fewer frustrations.
• The creepy Ice Worm’s less annoying now—changes in damage odds.
• Text screen bug in Chinese (Simplified) got the boot.

That’s pretty much the gist. And who knows why I remember these patch notes—they just kinda sprawled all over my mind while writing. Okay, done rambling.