Subnautica studio's next project will hit early access in 2022

Subnautica: Below Zero
(Image credit: Unknown Worlds Entertainment)

Subnautica studio Unknown Worlds is working on a new "genre-defining game," and you'll be able to start playing it next year.

The new project tease came paired with the news that Unknown Worlds has been acquired by PUBG parent company Krafton, putting it alongside fellow developers such as PUBG Studios and The Callisto Protocol's Striking Distance Studios. Here's how Krafton described its upcoming release plans in its official press release: "In addition to ongoing updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero, Unknown Worlds is currently working on a new genre-defining game, which is slated to launch into early access in 2022."

Unknown Worlds has become known for story-driven survival games thanks to the success of the Subnautica series. The studio's first projects were Natural Selection, an asymmetrical multiplayer Half-Life mod, and its sequel, so Unknown Worlds already has a fairly broad wheelhouse. It seems like a safe guess that whatever Unknown Worlds' next project is, it will use a first-person perspective and be at least marginally spooky in an atmospheric sort of way.

“Subnautica and PUBG both started humbly and evolved successfully through constant iteration and feedback," Unknown Worlds CEO Charlie Cleveland said in a press release. "We want to bring new games to the world stage – and with Krafton, we’re a big step closer. We’re truly looking forward to our future together.”

If you're looking for something to keep you busy while you wait for Unknown Worlds' next game to hit early access, check out our guide to games like Subnautica.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.