Subnautica 2 Patch 1.2 Adds Buddy System Co-op Features

Unknown Worlds Entertainment says Subnautica 2 is getting a heavier co-op push on August 19, 2026, with update 1.2 focused on team play. Buddy System adds direct item transfers, oxygen revives for downed teammates, proximity voice chat, and more.

The patch also adds player emotes, including thumbs up, thumbs down, clapping, and fists. On top of that, players get two new avatars, additional suit colors, and a tracking tag that can mark locations, extend the blackbox signal (the death marker) range after death, or even turn a locker into a beacon.

Proximity chat works by distance: friends sound louder when they are close and quieter when they move away, until the connection falls silent at long range. Unknown Worlds also says the HUD has been adjusted so icons are smaller by default when you are not looking toward them, then grow larger as you turn to them.

If a player is downed, another teammate gets a short window to swim up and share oxygen to bring them back. The patch also removes one of co-op's clumsiest steps by letting players move items directly between inventories instead of dropping them and picking them up again.

Buddy System is the second major update for Subnautica 2 after July's Adaptive Measures, and it is the first major push the game has received for shared play since it launched in early access on May 14. The official update vlog is already live, and the new patch is now only a day away.

Will Buddy System make Subnautica 2 feel like a better co-op game, or will distance-based chat frustrate players at long range?