But acknowledges that "early access" ain't what it was

Image credit: RPS/Unknown Worlds

Subnautica 2 creative director Anthony Gallegos has spoken about what Unknown Worlds have learned over their many years working in Steam early access, exhorting other devs to add new features "as soon as possible" and experiment with them right under the flared nostrils of players. Damn the torpedoes, etcetera.

The original Subnautica is one of the oldest Steam early access success stories, launching in 2014 a month or so after the program went live. Many of the final version's better qualities, including the pivot to horror epitomised by the spectacle of a Reaper grabbing your submarine's face , reflect observation of players and streamers in the wilds.

"Subnautica often launched features when they were very ugly, incomplete, or prototype," Gallegos commented, as part of a group chat about early access with GamesIndustry.biz .…