Steam users can play Subnautica at no cost until April 6, thanks to a newly launched free weekend promotion. The current offer marks the first time Subnautica has been free to play on Steam.
This unique opportunity comes several years later Subnautica established itself as one of the more famous survival games on Steam. Developed by San Francisco-based Unknown Worlds Entertainment, it originally launched in January 2018 after just over three years of early access. Since then, it has amassed nearly 175,000 Steam reviews with a 96.03% favorable rating, which Valve classifies as “overwhelmingly positive.”
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A couple of months after the eighth anniversary of its 1.0 release, Subnautica went free to play on Steam, but only temporarily. The iconic survival game can be experienced for free until Monday, April 6 at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM CET. The limited-time offer is intended to promote Unknown Worlds' recent launch Subnautica franchise sales on Steam, which are running in parallel.
Subnautica itself is discounted by 75% during the promotional period, bringing the price to $7.49, equivalent to $22.50 in savings. Although the free weekend ends on April 6, the sale itself will run for three days longer. Sub-Sonic Edition of the game, which packs Subnautica with its original soundtrack, has also been discounted 75% as part of the ongoing sale and can currently be picked up for $8.98. The same price reduction has been applied Subnautica continuation Below zerowhich is now available for $7.49.
The free weekend serves as a great opportunity for anyone who has yet to play Subnautica to see what made it such a phenomenon. The game is widely regarded as one of the defining elements of the survival crafting genre, not least because it debuted in a crowded market in 2018 and still managed to make its tried-and-true formula feel fresh. Instead of primarily leaning towards relentless scavenging or brute-force combat, Subnautica drops players into a vast alien sea where vulnerability, curiosity and fear shape the experience from start to finish. Reviewers praised how it mixed awe and terror, using an underwater world that could shift from calm, colorful reefs to panic-inducing deep-sea encounters in the blink of an eye. Looking at Steam's entire catalog of games with immersive and rewarding exploration, few titles can match Subnauticas moment to moment game.
Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.
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Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.
Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
Subnautica 2 is coming soon
In related news, Subnautica 2 will finally enter early access in 2026. Unknown Worlds originally said the 2025 delay would allow the team to respond to playtest feedback and expand the launch build, but the delay later became part of a broader legal dispute between publisher Krafton and former studio management. In the latest twist in the legal drama, a judge in the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered Krafton to reinstate former CEO Ted Gill and restore his full authority over the game's released early access in March 2026. Krafton had previously alleged that Gill, along with game director Charlie Cleveland and studio co-founder Max McGuire, neglected their duties in the project to dismiss their responsibilities in the project. The ousted executives disputed that claim and sued, claiming the publisher removed them to avoid paying a $250 million bonus tied to performance goals agreed as part of Krafton's 2021 acquisition of Unknown Worlds.
