Subnautica 2 lead designer Anthony Gallegos has addressed the issue of piracy following the game’s early access “I cannot condone piracy, but I get why people do,” “Just to be clear, pirates are gonna do their thing. We were all kids once. Money and the economy are very hard. I get it.” Gallegos clarified that his main frustration was not with piracy itself but with those who openly boasted about illicit copies in the official Discord server. “It wasn’t the piracy that bothered me. It was the people who flagrantly walked in here and waved it in the faces of people who were waiting to play legitimately.” He also addressed misconceptions about his personal wealth: “I’m very much not [a millionaire]. I don’t own a home. I rent.” Gallegos added that the team “just wanted the best launch possible for our people.” Despite the issues, the game has sold over 2 million copies with strong concurrent player numbers on Steam.