Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 1 Released, ‘Adjustments’ to Controversial Terms of Service Promised

Subnautica 2 has its first early access hotfix, which makes a small number of changes to the game. But the big news is the promise of changes to its controversial Terms of Service amid a backlash to the End User License Agreement (EULA).

Fans have universally criticised Subnautica 2’s EULA, with many calling it a significant overreach. Players picked up on weird stipulations, such as publisher and owner of Unknown Worlds, Krafton, claiming ownership of all mods, and disclaimers for any gameplay footage or livestreams. But it gets even weirder. The EULA stipulates players are not allowed to “harm the reputation” of Krafton or Subnautica 2 itself, not allowed to use a VPN, not allowed to spam content from the game (“post or share the same content repeatedly in a way that could be considered spam”), and you’re not allowed to “engage in any acts prohibited by applicable laws or generally unacceptable by social norms.”

Of course, a EULA cannot override your legal protections as a consumer, but Krafton has still suffered an intense backlash, prompting a response in the patch notes for this debut hotfix.

“Adjustments to the Terms of Service and a FAQ addressing concerns with the current version will be rolled out in the near future,” the patch notes read, without going into detail.

Interestingly, the hotfix also reduces the amount of data Subnautica 2 sends to backend services, and enables analytics only after accepting the Terms of Service.

Subnautica 2 is barely a week old but already it has sparked significant debate — and the EULA is only a part of it. The hot topic is whether the game should let players outright kill fish — something the developers are actively discussing. In the meantime, players have worked out ways to defend themselves from predators.

If you’re just getting started, we’ve got a Things to Do First in Subnautica 2 guide to check out, plus resource location guides to help you find Titanium, Silver, and more. Discover blackbox and supply crate locations on our interactive Subnautica 2 map, and make sure you don’t miss any Angel Comb Adaptations or Blueprints.

Subnautica 2 early access hotfix 1 patch notes:

• Updated crash-on-startup error pop-up for AMD graphics cards and DirectX 12 issues to provide more guidance and support
• Fixed an infrequent crash related to the Ping feature
• Enabled analytics only after accepting Terms of Service
• Reduced the amount of data being sent to backend services

As a reminder: analytics for Subnautica 2 can be turned off at any time from the settings menu.

Adjustments to the Terms of Service and a FAQ addressing concerns with the current version will be rolled out in the near future.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.