At the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards ceremony, Subnautica 2 won the "Best Early Access Game" award.
Now in its 44th year, the Golden Joystick Awards are the world's longest-running gaming awards voted on by the public. Players worldwide can vote online to determine the winners in various categories. The original Subnautica previously won the "PC Game of the Year" award at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards, and this latest win continues the series' strong presence at the event.
Subnautica 2 is an open-world survival crafting game set on a mysterious alien ocean planet. For the first time in the series, the game introduces an optional co-op mode supporting up to four players, allowing friends to explore unknown ecosystems, gather resources, and build underwater bases together.
Subnautica 2 launched in Early Access this May, selling over 2 million copies within just 12 hours and surpassing 5 million copies in 22 days. Unknown Worlds has consistently upheld its "Open Development" philosophy, continuously refining the game with the player community during the Early Access phase and rolling out content updates based on player feedback. Previous updates have included optimizations to exploration and survival gameplay, as well as features designed to enhance the multiplayer cooperative experience, such as proximity voice chat and a rescue system.
Anthony Gallegos, Creative Director of Subnautica 2, stated: "The player community has always been at the heart of Everythinggj we do. We create Everythinggj for our players, and their feedback helps us refine and improve these experiences. We take seriously the responsibility we hold toward our players. This award demonstrates that the approach of building games alongside players during Early Access remains highly relevant today. Thank you all for joining us on this journey!"
Later this year, Subnautica 2 will receive its largest content update since the launch of Early Access, adding new exploration areas, creatures, biomes, vehicles, and more.
Subnautica 2 is currently available on Steam, Xbox (Series X|S and PC), and the Epic Games Store. Players can find more information on the official website and official social media channels.