Subnautica 2 Buddy System adds proximity chat

The Subnautica 2 Buddy System update is scheduled for August 19 as Early Access version 1.2. Unknown Worlds’ preview focuses on multiplayer communication and recovery tools rather than a new biome reveal.

Subnautica 2 Buddy System: confirmed details

Confirmed features include Proximity Chat, Player Trading, Revives and a new Tracking Tag. Creative Director Anthony Gallegos presented the systems in the official update vlog and also teased material planned for the later Early Access 2 update. The current announcement does not say that the tease is part of version 1.2.

What changes for players

Proximity chat connects communication to physical distance, which can make separation underwater a real coordination problem. Trading removes the need to drop items informally, revives reduce the finality of a co-op mistake and tracking tags can help a group keep important locations or objects visible.

Timing and wider context

The official post was published August 18 and says the update is out August 19. This article records that announced schedule; players should confirm that their client shows version 1.2 before expecting the new multiplayer tools. Early Access 2 remains a separate future update.

The feature list and timing above reflect the developer’s announcement published on August 18, 2026. Future hotfixes can adjust balance or availability, so live values should be checked against the current client.

Source: official announcement. All release dates, named features and numerical values in this report come from that primary source; the analysis is our own.

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