Alterra Corporation

Alterra Corporation is an interstellar mega-corporation in the Subnautica universe. Though it identifies as a corporation, it is legally classified as a Trans-Gov a government-scale entity under interstellar law. Its motto is "Get what you deserve."

History and scope

Alterra started as a defense manufacturer startup in the mid-22nd century. It expanded through strategic investments and acquisitions into terraforming, construction, spacecraft manufacturing, and deep-sea marine exploration. It is now one of the largest Trans-Govs in the known universe, owning 9% of all phasegates in the galaxy, serving as an official supplier to the Trans System Federation, and governing millions of partially or fully owned subsidiary companies.

Alterra was heavily involved in the arms trade, supplying weaponry to all warring factions during a period known as "the Expansion." No specific CEO is named in the games. The corporate structure is depicted as faceless and bureaucratic.

In Subnautica

Alterra owns the Aurora, the Long-Range Capital Ship that crashes on Planet 4546B. Ryley Robinson is an Alterra employee. The Aurora's mission is phasegate construction in the Ariadne Arm, with a secondary search for the Degasi.

The PDA and debt system

Every Alterra employee carries a company-issued PDA. All resources harvested while an employee is "on the clock" (including during survival situations) are legally Alterra property. The PDA tracks debt in real time. Picking up a Diamond triggers a three-million-credit notification. By escape, Ryley's total debt reaches approximately one trillion credits. Alterra refuses to let him land until it's settled.

The PDA also uses different voice profiles by context. Most vehicles and base systems use a female voice, while the Cyclops and Prawn Suit use a male voice.

In Below Zero

Two years later, Alterra returned to 4546B and established research operations in Sector Zero, monitored from the Vesper orbital station. The company discovered a frozen leviathan still infected with Kharaa and began studying the bacterium for potential bioweapons. Sam Ayou sabotaged the research and was killed; Alterra covered it up as "employee negligence."

Corporate culture

Alterra's behavior is consistently ruthless. It sends employees to frontier worlds with full knowledge of the dangers, bills them for their own survival, covers up deaths, and researches alien pathogens for weaponization. The PDA's entry on the Warper reads: "Assessment: Immobilize and return to Alterra for mutual profit", the company would try to monetize even existential alien threats.

In Subnautica 2

The Voices from Beyond audio drama includes a character credited as "Alterra Engineer," confirming the corporation remains active in the timeline. The protagonist of Subnautica 2 wakes after 14 years of cryosleep en route to Planet Zezura, guided by a ship AI on a "now-compromised mission."