The underwater survival adventure Subnautica is one of the most popular games of its type, and while it ditches the multiplayer features that define many top survival games, the charms of its single-player narrative and alien oceanic setting have led to continued success and a devoted fanbase. Now, developer Unknown Worlds says the game has topped five million units sold.
Subnautica sales have reached 5.23 million worldwide, as studio founder Charlie Cleveland tells GamesIndustry.biz. That number includes sales on PC across Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as the console releases on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. That figure only includes paid sales of the game.
The first free game on the Epic Games Store was Subnautica, and Epic announced in 2019 that the title had been downloaded over 4.5 million times as part of the free promotion. That means close to 10 million players own the game, and it’s also available as part of Xbox Game Pass for both console and PC. Clearly, Subnautica has had no trouble finding an audience.
A standalone expansion, Subnautica: Below Zero hit Early Access in 2019, and continues to receive regular updates.