Subnautica 2 has been on the market for just a few days, releasing in early access on May 14 and promptly skyrocketing up the charts. The game secured a massive peak player count on Steam in just a few hours, accelerating near the half a million mark, a prestigious figure that only a few games will ever reach.
The game’s smash-hit success has drawn the attention of millions of gamers worldwide, and as you can imagine, some of them have come hand-in-hand with opinions and criticisms of the subnautical survival title. On the game’s official Discord server, one developer responded to said criticism with a snappy comment.
Why Does Subnautica 2 Not Have ‘Killing’?
In the Subnautica 2 Discord server, one user asked the developers at Unknown Worlds Entertainment why the game lacked killing mechanics. It’s a feature that’s front and centre in most survival games, but in Subnautica 2, you can’t kill a thing.
By way of a response, one of Unknown Worlds’ level designers, Artyom O’Rielly, fired back rather unceremoniously:
We aren’t a killing game. Go play Sons of the Forest or something if you want to kill.
(Thanks to Gamesradar for the spot)
The feedback quickly came under fire on social media, with a couple of Reddit threads opening up to debate the nature of O’Rielly’s comment. Many feel it was weird feedback, while others stand firm with the developer and agree that Subnautica 2 doesn’t need killing to be a phenomenal game.
Over the years, developers have cropped up on social media directly engaging with fans, and it has often led to some humorous exchanges. They’re mostly harmless, but now and then, someone will get into it with the wider gaming community, and things can turn sour quite quickly.
Just recently, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford shared a bizarre AI-generated image that sent folks into a frenzy. On the flip side, the new face of XBOX, Asha Sharma, has been present and correct on social media for weeks and has been praised immensely for her people skills.
Do you think O’Rielly was right for his comment about killing in Subnautica 2? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Nintendo will be at Gamescom this year
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
I am starting to believe Artyom is just an asshole that has an ego.
They want communitie feedback.
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They took something away from Sn1/BZ.
He is crying and malding over the fact that people dont like certain aspects. He also has issues with people critiqueing a game he made. He is very profissional. I made comment on X saying they where trash for lieing to me about performance not requiring DLSS/TSR.
I made a suggestion on discord about LFG forum on steam and he called out my xpost.
Unprofessional idiot.