Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hidden inside Subnautica 2 are several developer test maps that appear to have been used to prototype and field-test creatures, environments, combat, objects, and gameplay mechanics before they were integrated into the normal game.
In this video, I take a tour through several of these strange internal testing areas and show how Unknown Worlds appears to have experimented with different parts of Subnautica 2 during development.
These aren't normal biomes.
They're basically giant underwater laboratories for the developers themselves.
🌊 CORAL ENVIRONMENT TEST
One map is dedicated heavily toward coral, plants, environmental pieces, terrain, and underwater scenery.
Instead of building a finished biome, the developers can place different assets together and quickly see:
✅ How corals look together
✅ How objects interact with terrain
✅ Lighting and visibility
✅ Scale and density
✅ How environmental pieces look underwater
It's essentially a giant testing ground for assembling the environments we eventually explore in the real game.
🎮 FUNCTIONAL GAMEPLAY TEST MAP
Another area goes considerably further.
This map brings large amounts of content together into something resembling a miniature playable version of Subnautica 2.
Creatures, terrain, objects, resources, and other systems can all be tested together in one controlled environment.
That lets developers see what happens when systems that work individually suddenly have to interact with everything else.
🐋 GREAT JAW LEVIATHAN TEST
There's also a dedicated area where the Great Jaw Leviathan can be tested.
This gives developers a controlled environment where they can work on things such as:
✅ Creature scale
✅ Movement and animation
✅ Trigger distances
✅ Player interaction
✅ Environmental placement
✅ Leviathan behavior
Seeing the Great Jaw isolated in a developer map makes the entire creature feel almost like an enormous underwater lab experiment.
😇 BLIGHTED ANGEL COMB COMBAT TEST
Another map appears designed around testing encounters with the Blighted Angel Comb.
Here the developers can experiment with the creature and see how combat works without needing to repeatedly travel through the full game world.
These maps give us an incredibly interesting look at how Subnautica 2 is assembled behind the scenes.
Instead of building everything directly inside the finished world, developers can isolate an idea, test it in a controlled environment, improve it, and then move the working version into the actual game.
⚠️ These are unfinished developer areas and internal testing content. Their layout and contents are not intended to represent actual playable future biomes.
#Subnautica2 #Subnautica2Experimental #GameDevelopment
Hidden inside Subnautica 2 are several developer test maps that appear to have been used to prototype and field-test creatures, environments, combat, objects, and gameplay mechanics before they were integrated into the normal game.
In this video, I take a tour through several of these strange internal testing areas and show how Unknown Worlds appears to have experimented with different parts of Subnautica 2 during development.
These aren't normal biomes.
They're basically giant underwater laboratories for the developers themselves.
🌊 CORAL ENVIRONMENT TEST
One map is dedicated heavily toward coral, plants, environmental pieces, terrain, and underwater scenery.
Instead of building a finished biome, the developers can place different assets together and quickly see:
✅ How corals look together
✅ How objects interact with terrain
✅ Lighting and visibility
✅ Scale and density
✅ How environmental pieces look underwater
It's essentially a giant testing ground for assembling the environments we eventually explore in the real game.
🎮 FUNCTIONAL GAMEPLAY TEST MAP
Another area goes considerably further.
This map brings large amounts of content together into something resembling a miniature playable version of Subnautica 2.
Creatures, terrain, objects, resources, and other systems can all be tested together in one controlled environment.
That lets developers see what happens when systems that work individually suddenly have to interact with everything else.
🐋 GREAT JAW LEVIATHAN TEST
There's also a dedicated area where the Great Jaw Leviathan can be tested.
This gives developers a controlled environment where they can work on things such as:
✅ Creature scale
✅ Movement and animation
✅ Trigger distances
✅ Player interaction
✅ Environmental placement
✅ Leviathan behavior
Seeing the Great Jaw isolated in a developer map makes the entire creature feel almost like an enormous underwater lab experiment.
😇 BLIGHTED ANGEL COMB COMBAT TEST
Another map appears designed around testing encounters with the Blighted Angel Comb.
Here the developers can experiment with the creature and see how combat works without needing to repeatedly travel through the full game world.
These maps give us an incredibly interesting look at how Subnautica 2 is assembled behind the scenes.
Instead of building everything directly inside the finished world, developers can isolate an idea, test it in a controlled environment, improve it, and then move the working version into the actual game.
⚠️ These are unfinished developer areas and internal testing content. Their layout and contents are not intended to represent actual playable future biomes.
#Subnautica2 #Subnautica2Experimental #GameDevelopment
