Subnautica is free to play this weekend, and the subaquatic survival all-timer has a hefty discount to boot

I have ridiculously fond memories of Subnautica. Mark ‘Markiplier’ Fishbach and Seán ‘Jacksepticeye’ McLoughlin’s playthroughs remain some of my all-time favorite pieces of gaming content, enhanced by the fact developer-publisher Unknown Worlds Entertainment cooked with the gas on full. The Subnautica 2 pre-release content cycle has really ramped up in recent months, and now is the perfect time to delve into the hit survival game series if you haven’t already. ‘Why is that?’, you may ask. Well, starting today, you’ll be able to play Subnautica for free all weekend long, and both the OG and its 2021 follow-up, Subnautica Below Zero, are getting some hefty discounts.

As confirmed by Unknown Worlds in a new news post, starting today, April 2, at 10pm PT, and tomorrow, April 3, at 1am ET / 6am BST, you’ll be able to take a trip to Planet 4546B without paying a penny. The Subnautica free weekend runs through until Monday, April 6 at 9:59am PT / 12:59pm ET / 5:59pm BST, offering a solid amount of time to explore the deepest depths of this ocean-coated world.

If you don’t manage to go flipper-to-fin with an emperor leviathan, don’t worry. Unknown Worlds is graciously offering up a generous 75% discount on both Subnautica and Below Zero, which, by my quick napkin math, should bring them down to just $7.49 / £6.49 each. They’ve never been cheaper than this, so do with that information what you will. Hit the links tied to both to head to their store pages, but don’t forget you’ll have to wait just a little longer before you’ll be able to take full advantage.

Subnautica sports has a sparkling ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ Steam review score, while Below Zero sits just shy of the mark, with a still-very-respectable ‘Very Positive.’ In his Subnautica early access review from all the way back in 2015, Fraser Brown called it “a stunning game that’s a delight to explore,” and it only got better between then and its full 2018 launch.

The timing for this promotion could not be more apt, and it is a very solid bit of marketing. Yesterday, Gina dove into the short Subnautica 2 Voices from Beyond snippets that have been gradually uploaded by Unknown Worlds over the past few months, which alongside the sporadic dev blogs all roll neatly into the recent reveal that Subnautica 2 will arrive in early access this May. It’s been a messy development cycle, fraught with delays and legal shenanigans, but hopefully it’ll all be worth the wait.