Keep the Subnautica games flowing, please!
Unknown Worlds is working on a “new genre-defining game” that will launch into early access this year, but it also plans to expand Subnautica, its sci-fi oceanic survival series. The studio, which is now operating under Krafton, has posted a job listing for a senior narrative designer who will assist on “the next game in the Subnautica universe.”
We're seeking a Senior Narrative Designer to work with us to help shape the next game in the Subnautica universe! ????️????
Come and join our fully remote studio and let's make great games together. Check out the full job description here ???? https://t.co/SfOKSmKpkT
— Unknown Worlds (@UnknownWorlds) April 7, 2022
According to the job posting (via The Loadout and PC Gamer):
“This person will collaborate closely with the team to tell compelling, dramatic stories in the context of the game experience, while also defining the history and lore of a new science fiction world and its alien inhabitants. This person has a unique opportunity to join the team early in development and help establish the narrative direction for a beloved franchise.”
Subnautica: Below Zero ended in a way that leaves room — a lot of room! — for a third game. And even if it didn’t, fans like me would still be craving another Subnautica.
The studio hopes to fill the narrative design role with someone who has “familiarity with open-world games and the process of developing narrative in the context of an open-ended, player-driven experience,” which is what I dig about Subnautica — and what I want to see more of. Continue down that same path, and I’ll keep showing up to play.
Where do we go from here?
No other survival-crafting adventures hit like this, and to be honest, few other games, period, clicked with me harder than the original Subnautica in terms of fully-immersed exploration. It’s hard to imagine getting sick of that alien ocean-scouring setup.
Even though I’m invested in Robin’s (likely ongoing) story in Below Zero, I’d also be fine with a side-step for this next outing as opposed to a direct continuation. The first Subnautica was so solitary, and I wonder if we’ll see that approach again or if Unknown Worlds will lean more into encounters with NPCs. Lots of potential directions to take.
I’m probably in the minority in that I don’t need some of these universe-spanning questions answered — I like the mystery — but where do you stand?
As for that concept art up top, reaching the Lost River for the first time is one of my favorite video game moments. Plummeting into the depths is cool and terrifying!