Subnautica 2 multiplayer and crossplay
Party size and play modes
Steam describes Subnautica 2 as a single-player experience that can optionally be played in online cooperative multiplayer with up to three friends. That makes the total squad size four players. Solo play remains a first-class mode rather than a lobby requirement.
Crossplay evidence
The Steam response includes the Cross-Platform Multiplayer category, and the Xbox US listing advertises cross-platform co-op. Those labels establish intended support, but they do not document every invitation flow. Account requirements, platform friends lists, and error states still need a live test.
What Buddy System changed
The official Early Access 1.2 update adds proximity voice chat, player revives, player trading, emotes, and two new characters. This makes squad communication and cooperation more expressive, but feature behavior may change in later patches.
| Feature | Added in 1.2 | Current evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Proximity voice chat | Yes | Official update |
| Player revives | Yes | Official update |
| Player trading | Yes | Official update |
| Emotes | Yes | Official update |
| Two new characters | Yes | Official update |
Before you invite a crew
Confirm which store account owns the game, whether both platforms use the same regional availability, and whether voice-chat permissions are enabled at the system level. If a platform combination fails, record the exact versions, region, error text, and invitation method before calling it a crossplay problem.
Evidence boundary
This page does not claim that every Xbox/Steam invitation path has been hands-on tested. Setup steps will be expanded only after a controlled cross-platform session is captured and version-stamped.