50 Fun Facts About Subnautica

Which small, fast prey fish is often considered the unofficial mascot of Subnautica?

The Peeper bolts from anything bigger than itself and can outswim a poorly equipped diver. Unusually for a fish, it has eyelids and can be seen blinking.

Moved by the Sandy Hook school shooting, what did the makers of Subnautica set out to build?

A non-violent game without lethal guns was the aim. Director Charlie Cleveland first saw it as a game about exploration rather than survival.

Which sandbox hit did Subnautica's director say had transformed the game industry and heavily inspired him?

Minecraft arrived just as the exhausted team was finishing Natural Selection 2 and wanted to try something new. A PC Gamer preview later described Subnautica as an underwater take on it.

Which giant predator, the most numerous of its class, patrols the crash site of the Aurora in Subnautica?

The Reaper Leviathan numbers twenty-five across the map, with nine of them circling the wreck alone. Most of the others roam the open waters of the Dunes and the Mountains.

In which Subnautica game mode does dying permanently delete the save file instead of respawning the player?

Hardcore also switches off the PDA's low-oxygen warnings, so divers must watch the gauge themselves.

In which Subnautica biome does Lifepod 5 splash down, making it the first area every player explores?

Safe Shallows is less gentle than its name suggests: deadly geysers erupt in its northern and southern zones. It sits near the centre of the map.

How does the captive Sea Emperor communicate with the player deep inside an alien facility in Subnautica?

Telepathy is how the last living Sea Emperor speaks, and in her final message she poetically compares herself with the stranded survivor.

Which Subnautica creature, hatched from one of five hidden eggs, can give the player a high five?

The Cuddlefish follows the player or stays put when told, and its other play actions include magic tricks. Hatching one takes about twenty real minutes.

Which slow, easily caught fish do Subnautica players craft into Filtered Water at a Fabricator?

Bladderfish is the game's swimming water bottle, and eating one raw restores fifteen points of oxygen, which can save a diver in a pinch.

Metal Salvage scattered near the Aurora wreck in Subnautica is crafted into four units of which material?

Titanium goes into almost every piece of Alterra technology, from tools to seabase modules. It also turns up inside limestone outcrops on the seabed.

What is the name of the player character who escapes the Aurora in Lifepod 5 in Subnautica?

Ryley Robinson is knocked out by a loose panel during the descent and wakes three hours later to find the lifepod on fire.

What kind of organism is Kharaa, the alien infection that has overrun planet 4546B in Subnautica?

A bacterium, Kharaa had killed more than 143 billion individuals by the Architects' own count. They carried it to the planet while hunting for a vaccine.

What do newly hatched Sea Emperor babies release into the water, curing the Kharaa infection in Subnautica?

Enzyme 42 is made in the Sea Emperor's digestive tract. The ancient mother was too old to produce enough of it, so only her young could halt the infection.

In Subnautica, what happens to the Sunbeam, the trading ship that answers the Aurora's distress call?

It is shot down by the Quarantine Enforcement Platform, an alien weapon built to stop any ship entering or leaving the infected planet.

What was Marguerit Maida's job aboard the Degasi before it crashed on planet 4546B in Subnautica?

Mercenary Maida was hired by captain Paul Torgal to guard the ship against pirate raids. She outlived her crewmates and turns up in person in Below Zero.

Besides building a phasegate, what secondary mission brought the Aurora towards planet 4546B in Subnautica?

A rescue search for the Degasi's survivors was taken on to improve relations with that vessel's Mongolian owners. The Degasi had vanished about a decade earlier.

What did the Architects take from a Sea Dragon, provoking the attack that let Kharaa loose in Subnautica?

An egg was abducted for research after the Sea Emperor's own clutch refused to hatch. The furious parent wrecked the laboratory, which sank to the sea floor.

What name does the ion-powered escape rocket carry, built to leave planet 4546B at the end of Subnautica?

The Neptune cannot launch until the Quarantine Enforcement Platform is switched off. Blueprints for its launch platform wait in the captain's quarters of the wrecked Aurora.

What do Subnautica players leave behind at the final launch for other players to find in their own games?

A time capsule holds a message, a screenshot and six slots of items, and it is deployed as the rocket lifts off. Whoever finds it in their own game keeps the contents.

Which part of the Aurora explodes days after the crash in Subnautica, flooding the area with radiation?

The drive core blows a massive hole in the bow, and only after the blast can players venture inside. Without a full radiation suit they take damage over time.

Which Kelp Forest predator in Subnautica hoards scrap metal and sheds the teeth needed for enameled glass?

The Stalker has a fondness for metal and carries pieces off in its mouth, sometimes dropping a tooth as it goes. Offering it a fish held in the hand pacifies it for a while.

Which small, colourful Subnautica predator makes divers hear their own PDA urging them to swim closer?

The Mesmer hypnotises its victim, who drifts towards its jaws while the patterns on its glowing skin panels radiate and ripple.

Which Subnautica cave dweller bursts out of a Sulfur Plant, rushes at intruders and blows itself up?

The Crashfish dies in its own blast while dealing considerable damage. It never swims freely, feeds or hunts, and only lurks inside its plant partner.

Which passive Subnautica giant carries barnacles that can be broken open for resources and makes low, echoing calls?

The Reefback only calls when others of its kind are nearby, which suggests conversation rather than echolocation. Adults carry mini-ecosystems of plants and coral on their backs.

Which Subnautica submarine, at 54 metres the largest vehicle in the game, can carry a Seamoth in its bay?

The Cyclops dives to 500 metres, or 1,700 when fully upgraded. It doubles as a travelling base that can be fitted out with furniture.

Which handheld Subnautica vehicle pulls a diver along and projects a 3D holographic map of nearby terrain?

The Seaglide tops out at 11 metres per second, only slightly slower than a Seamoth. A full battery carries a swimmer roughly 3,800 metres.

Which Subnautica seabase module docks and recharges a Seamoth, lifting it from the water with robotic arms?

The Moonpool has to be built below water and holds one vehicle at a time. It is also the only room where a Vehicle Upgrade Console can be placed.

Which deployable platform rises to the surface and uses four drones to build a Seamoth in Subnautica?

The Mobile Vehicle Bay fills nine inventory slots until it is released, then unfolds itself on the surface. Its drones rise and assemble the craft above the platform.

What do Subnautica players get back when they take apart something made with the Habitat Builder?

The full cost is refunded, even for a piece that was only half built. The tool itself runs on a battery, with a gauge on the back showing the charge.

Which Subnautica tool, though not strictly a weapon, leaves a leviathan able to roar but not to move or attack?

The Stasis Rifle fires an energy pulse whose orb leaves creatures momentarily frozen in place. Holding the trigger charges a larger, longer-lasting orb.

Which angular blue gemstone from the lava zones is usually the last raw mineral Subnautica players obtain?

Kyanite grows in large crystal formations in both lava zones, or singly inside the Lava Castle. It goes into late-game upgrades and the escape rocket's fuel reserve.

Which frigid cave biome deep under Subnautica's surface glows green from corrosive brine pools?

The Lost River divides into seven sub-biomes reached through four entrances. Its brine is corrosive enough to damage even a Seamoth.

Which Kelp Forest plant in Subnautica bears seed clusters used for lubricant and silicone rubber?

Creepvine can also be cut with a knife for edible samples, which are fabricated into fiber mesh. Repeated strikes destroy the plant completely.

Which stout purple flora, hazardous when slashed, do Subnautica players gather to make Batteries?

Acid Mushroom caps release acid into the water when struck with a knife, harming divers, structures and nearby wildlife. They can simply be picked by hand instead.

Which job did the player character of Subnautica hold aboard the Aurora before the crash?

Maintenance chief sounds grand, but Non-Essential Systems Maintenance Chief is the full title. Nothing else is known of his life before the crash.

Which Subnautica reef growth must be cut with a knife for the samples that go into a Computer Chip?

Table Coral cannot be harvested by hand, so its disc has to be cut loose. The samples are then combined with copper wire and gold to make the chip.

After escaping in Subnautica, the survivor is refused permission to land until he settles what debt?

1 trillion credits is the full market value of the resources he gathered to survive, all of them company property under Alterra policy.

The Crater, where the main story of Subnautica plays out, is the top of what kind of natural formation?

A dormant volcano about three kilometres tall lies beneath the map. Its crater filled with sediment and became the centre of a thriving ecosystem.

Which San Francisco studio, which began by making the Half-Life mod Natural Selection, developed Subnautica?

Unknown Worlds was formed in 2001 by Charlie Cleveland. It once released a sudoku puzzle game simply to raise money for developing Natural Selection 2.

Which game engine did the Subnautica team pick over Spark, the in-house engine behind Natural Selection 2?

Unity was chosen because nobody on the new team worked on Spark. The producer said using Spark would be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Which South Korean publisher bought the studio behind Subnautica in 2021?

Krafton, the company behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, announced the purchase in October 2021 and said the studio would continue to operate independently.

Which Golden Joystick prize did Subnautica win in 2018, alongside a Breakthrough Award for its studio?

PC Game of the Year was its big win. It was also nominated for the overall Ultimate Game of the Year prize and for its visual and audio design, without winning those.

Besides scuba diving, which Hollywood director's films did Subnautica's director name as an influence?

James Cameron's filmography was cited alongside the feeling of exploring deep, dark ocean depths like an astronaut who does not know what he will find.

An essay by the maker of which survival game persuaded Subnautica's director to leave out missions and quests?

Don't Starve designer Jamie Cheng had built his own game around intrinsic rewards. Cleveland agreed that players would come to enjoy activities for their own sake.

Which new survival gauge in Subnautica: Below Zero comes into play whenever the player walks on land?

Body heat works much like the oxygen gauge does underwater. It is topped up by jumping into water, taking shelter or consuming certain items.

Which feature, never offered in Subnautica or Below Zero, did Subnautica 2 bring to the series for the first time?

Online co-op for up to four players was a first for the series. The sequel also lets players modify their own DNA, an idea originally cut from the first game.

Which survival mechanic was absent from Subnautica's first early access release and added after criticism?

Hunger and thirst were added after one critique struck home with the director. The team then found the system helped newcomers orient themselves in the early game.

What was Subnautica: Below Zero originally meant to be before its scope grew into a standalone game?

A DLC pack was the first idea, but the scope expanded significantly. Long treated as a sequel, it became a spin-off once the third game was titled Subnautica 2.

Where did the three Degasi survivors wash up and build their first base on planet 4546B in Subnautica?

Floating Island was where captain Paul Torgal wanted to stay put until help arrived. The main base they built there now lies partly covered by a mudslide.

Which Austin studio, best known for its Nintendo Switch ports, co-developed the console versions of Subnautica?

Panic Button made its name in 2017 with the Switch ports of Rocket League and Doom. Its version of Wolfenstein II followed the next year.