Ben Prunty

Ben Prunty is the composer returning to score Subnautica 2. He previously composed the soundtracks for both Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero.

Background

Prunty attended the New England School of Communications for audio engineering. Before becoming a full-time game composer, he worked at Google as a datacenter technician. His break came with FTL: Faster Than Light.

FTL and Into the Breach

Prunty composed the soundtrack to FTL: Faster Than Light (2012), the roguelike spaceship management game by Subset Games. FTL's soundtrack blended ambient electronic music with tension-building combat tracks and helped establish Prunty's reputation in indie game music. He also composed the score for Subset Games' follow-up, Into the Breach (2018), which he described as his "most challenging and most personal" work.

Subnautica soundtracks

Prunty's work on the original Subnautica established the franchise's musical identity: ambient underwater textures layered with moments of wonder and dread that shift depending on depth and biome. The music responds to gameplay, becoming more intense in dangerous areas and more contemplative during surface exploration.

In a SPIN interview about the Below Zero soundtrack, Prunty described his three focal points as "loneliness and isolation, the awe and wonder of an alien world, and the fear of the unknown." He also stated: "Getting to work on a game series that I already loved as a player is one of the greatest privileges of my life."

Subnautica 2

Prunty's return for Subnautica 2 provides musical continuity with the franchise. The shift to a new planet (Zezura) and new biomes gives room for fresh compositions. No released tracks or specific interviews about the Subnautica 2 score have surfaced as of February 2026.

Other credits

Beyond the Subnautica franchise and Subset Games titles, Prunty's credits include The Darkside Detective and Dead Secret. His work has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, PC Gamer, SPIN, and NME.