Like the first game, Subnautica 2 is designed to be a bottomless experience that players can enjoy for as long as they like with no end in sight. This is also true of the early access version that is currently available, and the good news is, there is far more content to come.
However, Subnautica 2 has a main quest and story running through it, and as the game is only in early access, some players may be keen to know if the current version has an ending. This then begs the question, if early access has an ending, will it be the definitive ending of the final version of Subnautica 2, or will it simply be a taste of things to come?
Be warned, spoilers lurk below for Subnautica 2.
Does Subnautica 2 have an ending?
Yes, the early access of Subnautica 2 does have an ending to its story.
Once players recharge the Power Plant, this will trigger the Observatory to start working, and the player will receive a message from the aliens who built it. After this, the player will receive a thank you message from the development team, then be free to head back into the ocean and keep exploring/crafting until their heart’s content.
So while the game’s story quest does come to an abrupt end, players are still free to carry on playing even after this has happened. It’s also worth pointing out that players can ignore Subnautica 2’s story altogether if they choose.
However, the game’s story quests do a great job of showing you certain things and teaching players how to do things. Subnautica 2 doesn’t do much in the way of handholding, but the story gives players a sense of purpose and helps put progress into a logical order.
Subnautica 2 early access ending explained
The protagonist powers up the alien Power Plant originally to claim it as salvage, but this triggers a huge orrery of the star system to come to life, showing the player where they are in the galaxy. The AI tries to work out how far the plant is from Earth, but is unable. However, they determine that nobody has set foot in the orrery for centuries.
After climbing the orrery, the player sees a recorded message (or perhaps a transmission) from the alien species, the Axum, who beg for the player’s help. The aliens tell the player they need to save the World Tree, the gigantic structure that can be seen from nearly anywhere in the ocean.
The Axum message explains that the World Tree gives life to the planet and that the world powers the Tree in turn. However, the roots are rotting and will need to be reached by the player in a region called Xanadu. There, the player will need to “find the Veps”, who contain the World Tree’s DNA and may be bug-like aliens with big claws (see below).
The aliens warn the player that “Crypters slumber beneath the trees” and to beware. They then tell the player that the Crypters fear them and will “leave them to your mercy.” From here, the player decides to set out and find Xanadu and the World Tree, before the game ends with the above message.
It’s clear that this isn’t the end of the story, and the early access has merely been an introduction to the Subnautica 2 adventure.
Will the full release continue the story?
Almost certainly yes. The ending of Subnautica 2’s early access concludes on a cliff-hanger, with the player needing to go to a new location and do something important to save the world.
The protagonist is no longer just trying to survive in the ocean; they’ve been sucked into a bigger story involving alien civilizations, corrupt corporations, and some other rather momentous events. If the ending of the early access turned out to be the whole ending of Subnautica 2, it would be something of a damn squib.
Also, Unknown Worlds, the developers, have already stated that early access will “have an ending”, but it “won’t be the ending” of Subnautica 2. This implies that the ocean odyssey is just beginning, and that there’s much more content and story to come in the full release of the game.
