What just happened? It's been quite a week for playable builds of big-name games leaking before they officially launch. After some people managed to play Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and Forza Horizon 6 ahead of time, it's been confirmed that Subnautica 2 has also been distributed through unofficial channels.
Subnautica 2, one of our most anticipated PC games of 2026, arrives in early access on Thursday, May 14. But a clip of PC gameplay and screenshots appeared on Reddit yesterday. As reported by IGN, fans say an unknown person somehow got ahold of a copy and streamed the game last night.
How Subnautica 2 was leaked and who was responsible is still a mystery, though it's suspected to be DenuvOwO, which was responsible for the Hypervisor-based Denuvo cracks. The group's Discord server shows that several users knew a leaked build of the game was expected to appear sometime last night. Several never-before-seen images of Subnautica 2 were also shared, with those posting them claiming they came from the pirated copy.
Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has since confirmed the leak of "unofficial builds" of the game. The company issued the following statement, warning that these builds do not reflect the full, official experience.
"We've identified that unofficial builds of Subnautica 2 are currently circulating online," an Unknown Worlds spokesperson told IGN. "These builds are incomplete development versions and do not reflect the content or gameplay experience being prepared for the official release.
"Files distributed through unofficial channels cannot be verified for safety or stability, and certain features or content may not function as intended."
"The complete Subnautica 2 Early Access experience, including multiplayer support, as well as all future patches and updates, will be delivered exclusively through official builds on our partner platforms."
This is the third major upcoming title to leak this week. It also happened to Forza Horizon 6, which Microsoft confirmed was not the result of a preload issue – despite claims otherwise. The company's response was to ban anyone caught playing the game until December 31, 9999.
Lego Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight, set for release on May 22, also had gameplay posted over the weekend on Reddit. The poster said they had pre-ordered a digital copy of the game from Walmart and were prompted to launch it after downloading the files. Those unauthorized copies have since been deactivated, while the publisher has added anti-piracy safeguards to the PC version.