Subnautica 2 arrives at a time when the whole gaming industry is marred by AI usage in game development. However, Unknown Worlds has taken a clear stance, which separates it from many other modern studios.

The developers have now confirmed one significant detail. Subnautica 2 is built entirely without generative AI.

Pirat_Nation shared the statement on X on May 1, 2026, about what Scott MacDonald, the creative media producer at the studio behind Subnautica 2, had to say about it in an interview with Eurogamer.

"No, we're not using generative AI in Subnautica 2 at all. It's all traditional person-done. When we mention AI, it's all traditional: a programmer has physically gone in and done it themselves, like [the] creature AI. We're using Unity Blackboard and things like that. It's basically all hand-done. It's interesting technology, but it's not something we're using at all."

The game's design lead, Anthony Gallegos, has also struck the same note. As per him, the company knows that using those tools (read Gen AI) "could be disruptive" to their process at this point. So, there's no mandate to use them or anything.

Krafton had declared itself an “AI-first” company back in October 2025, investing heavily in AI infrastructure and tools. However, MacDonald clarified that despite this approach, the use of AI doesn't suit Subnautica 2 and their pipeline.

Subnautica 2 is set to have its early access release on May 14, and this confirmation from the developer gives players a sigh of relief as they get to play something that is completely human-made.

Other Major Games Also Rejecting Generative AI in Development

It's not only Subnautica 2 that is going against the flow. Several recent titles have also either rejected generative AI outright or limited its role heavily. For example, Tomb Raider I–III Remastered faced heavy backlash over suspected AI-generated assets. But developer Aspyr clarified that all new content was created by artists, not AI tools.

Following the same path, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has taken a cautious approach. The studio did admit that AI may be used in earlier development stages. But the developers confirmed that no AI-generated content is present in the final game.

This pledge goes beyond individual titles. Capcom has clearly stated that it won't include AI-generated assets in its games. However, the developer might experiment with the technology internally.

These examples highlight an industry divide as developers prioritize handcrafted assets over AI.

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Written by

Nilendu Brahma

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav