Subnautica 2 has revealed a new type of Leviathan called the Collector. A deep-sea predator of gargantuan proportions, the creature is likely to make exploration in Subnautica 2 significantly more unnerving.
Leviathans in the Subnautica franchise are massive underwater organisms spanning numerous species, some of which can grow as large as skyscrapers. Not all creatures classified as Leviathans are predators, but plenty of them do hunt for sustenance in the lore of the hit survival games. The upcoming Subnautica 2 will include both new and returning Leviathans.
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Subnautica 2 Reveals Terrifying Cthulhu-Inspired Leviathan
Unknown Worlds Entertainment has now revealed one such creature in a new devlog featuring longtime Subnautica developer Cory Strader, who was an art director on the first two entries in the series and is once again leading the visual development of the third installment. The new Leviathan is called the Collector, a gargantuan squid-like creature whose design is influenced by Cthulhu. Strader said the design aimed to create a predator that feels distinct from those in previous games.
Visual development led the team down a design path spanning from thumbnail silhouettes to a lifelike model with four long tentacles and a split-body glow motif meant to evoke shock while simultaneously being easily seen from afar. The new devlog also delves under the hood, revealing what the developers dubbed the "classic AI" model built in Unreal Engine behavior trees. While the video doesn't go into many specifics of Unknown Worlds' development stack, one prior leak suggested Subnautica 2 is built using Unreal Engine 5.5.4.
Subnautica 2 Leviathans and Other Creatures Will Be Much More Reactive
The developers describe the Collector as an "easily irritable" creature with a strong dislike for anything it doesn't recognize. The player character hence won't be its favorite organism in the world, but it can also get distracted by fauna or things like flares. According to Unknown Worlds, one of the goals with all the creatures in Subnautica 2 was to make them more reactive than in the previous games, a feature the team hopes to achieve through the so-called "stimulus" system. The technology enables organisms to continually reevaluate situations, supporting emergent gameplay and improving replayability.
Subnautica 2 has been targeting a 2026 early access release since its messy delay back in July 2025, which ended with Unknown Worlds co-founders ousted from the studio after the parent company, Krafton, concluded that the game wasn't in a state to launch, accusing them of abandoning their responsibilities. The founders filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit in response, alleging the South Korean publisher removed them just so that it didn't have to pay a $250 million bonus that was agreed for meeting Subnautica 2 development targets back when the studio was acquired by Krafton in 2021.
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Krafton
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Subnautica
