Subnautica 2: the 1.2 “Buddy System” update is out today — proximity chat, item trading, revival, and tracking beacon

Unknown Worlds put out its video update log last night, and the message leaves no room for doubt: the 1.2 early access update for Subnautica 2, called "Buddy System", launches this Wednesday, August 19. Creative director Anthony Gallegos presents it, just as he did for 1.1.

Four features have been announced, and they all aim at the same thing: making four-player co-op genuinely workable. Here's what they change, and the two points the studio hasn't nailed down yet.

The four announced new features

The studio lists them in this order: Proximity Chat, Player Trading, Revives, and a new Tracking Tag.

A vocabulary point worth noting: as we write these lines, Unknown Worlds has only published these four names in English. That said, the studio does translate its patch notes — 1.1 is officially called "Mesures d'adaptation" in French, and its content was fully localized. The final French labels for 1.2 will therefore arrive with the patch notes. The translations given above are reading equivalents, not official names: don't look for them as such in the client until the French notes are out.

Proximity chat: the end of blind coordination

This is the most structurally significant of the four features, and the least spectacular to describe. A proximity chat makes audibility dependent on distance: you hear your teammates when you're near them, and lose them as you move away.

In a game where depth is the main challenge, this creates a real gameplay constraint rather than a simple convenience. A team that spreads out to cover more ground loses its communication, right at the moment it would need it most. Conversely, two divers who stay together keep their voice channel — hence the update's title.

Be careful not to confuse this with a replacement for external voice chat. The studio has announced neither the removal of a global channel, nor the impossibility of using Discord alongside it. Nothing in the video log states that proximity chat is the only available channel.

Item trading: the real logistical gain

Until now, passing a resource from one player to another required going through a shared container. Direct trading removes that step.

The benefit is most noticeable deep in a biome. Descending into the Void or into deep zones is governed by oxygen reserves, and every trip back to base costs an air budget. Being able to hand over a tank, a consumable, or a material without surfacing changes the arithmetic of a two-player dive: whoever comes back down can resupply the one already below.

The studio hasn't specified whether trading works at any distance or only within reach. It's the most operationally significant question of the four, and it has no official answer at this stage.

Revives: a safety net, but what kind?

The addition of revives is the one that most changes the perceived difficulty. In an underwater survival game, the death of a teammate isolated at depth is a heavy penalty; being able to revive them completely changes the relationship to risk.

Two unknowns remain, and they need to be stated clearly rather than guessed at:

• The revival window. How long does a player stay revivable? The video devlog doesn't say.
• The cost. Does reviving consume a resource, a crafted item, or nothing at all? No indication on that either.

These two parameters will decide everything: a free, unlimited revive turns deep diving into a stroll, while a costly, brief revive simply makes it less punishing. The patch notes will settle the matter.

The tracking beacon: the only genuinely new item

The first three features are systems; the tracking beacon is presented as an addition that is "all-new". So, in all likelihood, it's an item or tool, with a recipe and an equipment slot.

A tracking device answers a problem every group of four knows well: finding a teammate, a creature, or a point of interest in an environment with no reliable vertical landmarks. What remains to be seen is exactly what it tracks — a player, a creature, a fixed position — and over what range. Again, the studio has given no details.

What the video devlog hints at about what's next

One detail, slipped in at the end of the description by Unknown Worlds: "there might even be another sneak peek at the next Early Access 2 update". The studio thus confirms that a major update numbered Early Access 2 is in the works, without giving it a date.

This is consistent with the pace observed since early access launched on May 14: three patches in May and June, 1.1 "Adaptation Measures" on July 8, a fourth patch on July 14, the opening of the Experimental branch on August 12, and 1.2 on this August 19. That's one major update every six to eight weeks, punctuated by patches.

Before you launch your game tonight

Three habits are worth repeating for every major Subnautica 2 update, and they particularly apply to this one.

Save before launching your session. An update that touches co-op touches the shared state of a session. Basic caution means not opening a long-running save first.

Check which branch you're on. Since August 12, an Experimental branch has existed alongside the main branch. If you switched to it to test things early, your client won't necessarily receive stable 1.2 under the same conditions.

Wait for the full patch notes for the exact numbers. The video devlog announces features; it gives no values, no recipes, no ranges. Any figure published today about the revival window or the tracking beacon's range comes from community testing, not from the studio.

As with 1.1, the update should appear as a free, automatic download. If it doesn't show up, the usual procedure still applies: restart the Steam client, then the game.