Subnautica: Below Zerois set to take players even deeper underwater than its predecessor, and exploration and survival are always better with friends. For this reason, many players may find themselves wondering whether or not there is any kind of multiplayer to be had in the game. Unfortunately, the answer is a bit more complicated than it may seem at first, asmultiplayer is a feature thatSubnauticadevs Unknown Worlds has been consideringfor quite some time now, and it has even made an official statement some time ago on the matter.
For those that may be out of the loop, the relationship betweenSubnauticaandSubnautica: Below Zerocan be a bit confusing at first. Officially,Subnautica: Below Zerowas referred to as a standalone expansion to the originalSubnauticagame, but since then its taken on an identity as its own title. Unknown Worlds' first deep sea exploration game was released in 2018, andBelow Zerohas been in early access on Steam since 2019. May 14th marks the official console release ofBelow Zero, opening up the game to a whole new playerbase.
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The short answer to the question is thatSubnautica: Below Zerodoes not have any form of multiplayer. Players don’t even need to have an internet connection to play it other than to download updates. Things get a bit more in depth when looking at the potential for some kind of multiplayer update in the near future. The last time that Unknown Worlds made a comment on this seems to have been in 2015 during theearly access run ofSubnautica.
In this comment, the devs made it clear that multiplayer was not a priority forSubnautica. At that time, Unknown Worlds was more concerned with getting the game polished, fleshing out its story, and providing a good single player experience than anything else. That said, it did not rule out the possibility of multiplayer in a futureSubnauticagame. At the moment, there’s been no word about whether or notmultiplayer is in the cards forSubnautica: Below Zero, but at the very least it seems as though it hasn’t been ruled out.
At the moment, fans will have toenjoySubnautica: Below Zeroin singleplayer mode, but with any luck that will change in the future. The fact that the full release of the console versions only supports single player is a little disheartening, but anything could change with future updates.
Subnautica: Below Zerois available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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