Subnautica 2 teasers may be hiding in plain sight in the first underwater survival game, as one dev not-so-subtly hints that something fishy is afoot

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Check those time capsules, there may be some secrets to find

Screenshot from Subnautica showing two sea creatures swimming underwater amongst grass and coral
(Image credit: Unknown Worlds)

Subnautica fans may have been unknowingly uncovering screenshots from Unknown Worlds' next installment in the underwater survival series via the first game's time capsules, as a number of mysterious, unrecognizable images make their way to the surface.

We've still not seen a trailer for the next Subnautica game (which most fans are simply calling Subnautica 2), but as spotted by Eurogamer, sleuthing players have discovered what appear to be screenshots from the upcoming sequel hidden in plain sight in the original. These have been found in time capsules, with more and more players discovering them over the last couple of weeks.

Time capsules are nothing new – they can be found scattered around the seafloor after being left by fellow players and devs, complete with messages and things like in-game screenshots and items. However, some of the recent findings include screenshots which include nothing like anything we've seen in Subnautica or its spin-off, Below Zero. One of them shares a screenshot of a colorful life form with the caption, "Hey, um, found this on my way back to the rocket. Is this thing new? Never seen it before!" 

A time capsule with a screenshot featuring some rather interesting creatures. #PEEPERSRULE from r/subnautica

Another, shared on the Subnautica wiki, shows off an unusual egg-like specimen, captioned: "I have no idea what this thing is but it seems to be pretty clear and filled with something. Can I drink it?" A third, posted in the Subnautica Discord server, says: "I found this thing on the ground… I have no idea what I'm looking at, but I think it's friendly? It has long eyes!" All three of these notably include the same hashtag, "#PeepersRule." 

Even on their own, these screenshots were enough to turn heads, but just to take things up a notch further, acknowledgement from one of the devs has sent hype levels into overdrive. Responding to one of these #PeepersRule screenshots shared on Steam, animator and former QA lead for Subnautica, Scott 'Obraxis' MacDonald, suspiciously posts the 'eyes' emoji. Nothing is confirmed nor denied, but it's clear that he knows something. 

For now, we'll just have to watch this space – the next Subnautica game is currently set to release at some point next year, so here's hoping we get some more news soon.

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Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.