Two Games Flee May 14 to Dodge Subnautica 2's Launch

Two games in ten days. That's how many titles have now shifted their release dates specifically to avoid sharing a launch window with Subnautica 2's May 14 Early Access debut, and the way it happened is almost slapstick.

First, Square Glade Games moved its open-world camper van survival game Outbound from May 14 to May 11 on PC and Xbox. The studio had only just delayed the game to May 14 after an earlier issue pushed it from its original April 23 slot. In a statement on Steam, Square Glade wrote: "We need to dodge the Leviathan, which means that you can start your road trip earlier!" PS5 and Switch versions of Outbound will still launch May 14. Outbound isn't a small game either; it has well over a million Steam wishlists and four-player co-op. But even with that kind of traction, the studio clearly decided the risk wasn't worth it.

Then came the domino. Farm to Table, a solo-developed restaurant management sim with base-building and farming elements, had been targeting May 11 for its own Early Access launch. When Outbound landed on that exact date, the developer decided to pull forward again to May 9. "We're excited for both games, but we also want our players to have a more relaxed launch experience," the developer wrote on X. I appreciate the diplomacy, but the subtext is clear: nobody wants to be the game people forget to buy because they're 400 metres underwater.

Steam's Biggest Wishlist Problem

Subnautica 2 currently sits as Steam's most-wishlisted game, a position it inherited after Hollow Knight: Silksong finally launched. Silksong itself reportedly pushed at least eight games off their original release dates when it arrived. Subnautica 2 is following the same playbook, except this time the gravitational pull is creating a chain reaction where one game fleeing causes another to flee in turn. It's release date dominoes, and I find it both funny and a little sad that indie developers have to play calendar chess just to give their games a fighting chance at visibility.

The situation around Subnautica 2's launch is already complicated enough. Unknown Worlds delayed the game from its original 2025 window following a closed playtest and a messy leadership shakeup that saw the studio's three co-founders replaced. A $250 million lawsuit between those founders and parent company Krafton is still underway. Krafton was even removed as publisher on Subnautica 2's Steam page in April, though Unknown Worlds design lead Anthony Gallegos has since confirmed to Eurogamer that Krafton is still co-publishing the game. "They're not not the publisher anymore," Gallegos said, which is a sentence that inspires exactly as much confidence as it sounds like.

None of that baggage seems to have dented player interest. Subnautica 2 will launch on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Windows Store, plus Xbox Series X|S, with native multiplayer co-op for up to four players. Unknown Worlds estimates the game will stay in Early Access for two to three years, and has confirmed the price will increase after the full launch. For Outbound and Farm to Table, May 14 was simply too hot to touch. Whether May 9 and May 11 give them enough breathing room is another question, but at least they won't be directly competing with the biggest wishlist magnet on the platform.