Community and modding
The Subnautica franchise has built one of the most active communities in survival gaming, spanning Steam, Reddit, Discord, and a large modding ecosystem.
Community size
Steam wishlists Subnautica 2 is the #1 most wishlisted game on Steam with an estimated 3.8 million wishlists, ahead of Forza Horizon 6 (~2.6 million) and Resident Evil Requiem (~2.5 million). The original Subnautica sold over 5.3 million copies.
Reddit r/subnautica has approximately 794,000 members. A separate r/subnautica2 community also exists.
Discord The official Subnautica Discord has approximately 199,000 members. The Subnautica Modding Discord has around 41,000 members. The Nitrox (multiplayer mod) Discord has roughly 70,000 members.
Modding tools
The original Subnautica and Below Zero have an active modding scene built on standardized tools:
BepInEx The current standard mod framework, available in pre-configured packs for Windows, macOS, and Linux (including SteamOS on Steam Deck).
Nautilus (formerly SMLHelper): The Subnautica Modding API that helps developers create mods. Open-source on GitHub.
Thunderstore The mod database and distribution platform for both Subnautica games.
QModManager The original mod loader, now deprecated and archived. It ran on top of BepInEx.
Popular mods
Nitrox The most famous mod. Adds multiplayer supporting up to 100 players per server with cross-play between Steam, Epic, and Windows Store versions. See the full Nitrox mod article.
Map Mod Adds a minimap with fog-of-war exploration tracking, biome labels, and player position.
MoreQuickSlots Expands quick slots from the default to 12 for tools and items.
Blueprint Tracker Pins blueprints to the HUD showing needed resources.
Speedrunning
Subnautica has an active speedrunning community on Speedrun.com. The Survival any% category has been pushed below one hour, with records in the 45-55 minute range. Speedrunners exploit resource routes and build order optimization to complete the Neptune Escape Rocket as quickly as possible. Hardcore glitchless runs are also popular.
Subnautica 2 modding outlook
No official modding support has been announced for Subnautica 2 during Early Access. The switch from Unity to Unreal Engine 5 means the existing modding infrastructure (BepInEx, Nautilus) will not carry over directly. The community expects a new modding ecosystem to develop once the game launches, though UE5 modding requires different tools than Unity.