Amid Legal Drama Over $250 Million Bonus, New Developer Vlog Shows Work on Subnautica 2 Continues

Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has dropped a caller vlog.

Offering a behind-the-scenes look astatine the all-new deep-sea predator, and "how the squad has utilized Unreal Engine 5 AI for lifelike behavior, real-time reactions and tense encounters for players," the 10-minute vlog is 1 of the archetypal improvement updates we've had since the studio's full enactment was fired amid a messy nationalist falling retired implicit a $250 cardinal bonus from genitor company, Krafton.

The update claims caller elephantine squid-like predator Collector Leviathan represents "the adjacent measurement successful the franchise’s improvement with a carnal that is some visually striking and powered by precocious AI to make tense, dynamic encounters." The video shows disconnected the "aggressive" archetypal brushwood players volition endure erstwhile they conscionable the force successful Subnautica 2.

Here's the authoritative blurb connected the Collector Leviathan from Unknown Worlds:

The latest developer vlog provides a behind-the-scenes look astatine the making of the Collector Leviathan, from aboriginal conception creation by Visual Development Lead Cory Strader to insights from the Unknown Worlds improvement team. This carnal was designed to propulsion boundaries of immersion and menace successful Subnautica 2.

• Aggressive First Encounter: The Collector Leviathan is the archetypal hostile leviathan players volition conscionable successful Subnautica 2.
• Responsive AI: Powered by Unreal Engine 5 behaviour trees and stimulus systems, it reacts to light, sound, and subordinate actions successful existent time.
• Lifelike Movement: Fully simulated tentacle animation creates much earthy and unpredictable interactions.
• Immersive Combat Design: A terrifying roar and almighty shockwave attacks amplify the consciousness of danger.

Antonio Muñoz Gallego, AI decorator for the creature, said: “The Collector Leviathan is not conscionable a monster that blindly attacks players. It is an intelligent and highly threatening deep-sea lifeform that actively reacts to subordinate behaviour and pursues them.” He added: “Our main extremity with our creatures was to marque them consciousness reactive, truthful the Leviathan is perpetually re-evaluating the concern successful existent time. To execute that, we usage Unreal Engine 5 behaviour trees and our AI stimulus system.”

The vlog volition beryllium a invited update for Subnautica fans. For months now, astir sum astir the crippled has acrophobic the achy breakdown betwixt Unknown Worlds' founders and Krafton, which acquired Unknown Worlds successful October 2021. Over the summer, reports came to airy that Subnautica 2's aboriginal entree merchandise was delayed to 2026 conscionable months earlier Krafton was owed to wage a $250 cardinal bonus to the improvement squad "against the wishes of the studio’s erstwhile leadership."

Most recently, Krafton issued a effect to the suit filed by erstwhile leads of Subnautica 2, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, offering rebuttals to the developers' claims and alleging they "resorted to litigation to request a multimillion-dollar payout they haven't earned."

Then, past month, Unknown Worlds itself sued Cleveland, erstwhile CEO Ted Gill, and workplace co-founder Max McGuire for allegedly stealing crippled plan files soon earlier they were fired.

It's worthy noting that present Hollow Knight: Silksong has travel out, Subnautica 2 is the astir wishlisted crippled connected Steam, which suggests that contempt each the ineligible play surrounding the game, there's immense involvement successful it. That's possibly small astonishment fixed however large a deed Subnautica was, but it volition beryllium absorbing to spot however instrumentality reception evolves arsenic the sequel gets person to launch.

Subnautica 2’s Early Access merchandise was precocious delayed to 2026.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.