CRAFTING THE WORLD OF SUBNAUTICA 2
Working across three different studios – Virtuos Chengdu, Virtuos Montreal, and Glass Egg – A Virtuos Studio, Virtuos contributed across the entire pipeline of game art, collaborating closely with the Unknown Worlds team to capture the distinct atmosphere of the Subnautica world.
- Developed character exploration concepts for humans and sea creatures
- 3D modeling of a diversity of ocean creatures, ranging from common fish and marine life to major sea monsters
- 3D modeling and Unreal Engine 5 integration of aquatic environments and props, including foliage, rocks, highly detailed plants, player tools, and large set pieces
- Contributed to the worldbuilding of Subnautica 2, including concept art, 3D characters and creatures, and environment and hard surface assets, totalling > 100 assets for the core game
- Unreal Engine 5 integration of art assets to ensure visual fidelity
Virtuos Montreal partnered with Unknown Worlds at the beginning of the game development process, contributing early-stage concept explorations for humans and creatures.
Over a six-month period, Virtuos Montreal provided explorative concepts for the human crew members, their diving gear, and various species. These initial art explorations helped establish the artistic vision for the game and provided a lore-rich, gameplay-focused foundation for 3D asset development downstream.
Virtuos produced a variety of assets, delivering over 100 character, environment, and hard surface assets across disciplines over the duration of production. 3D production spanned the full 3D pipeline (from blockout to in-engine integration), and across a large range of complex and diverse biomes.
Character assets ranged from common fauna and marine life to major sea monsters, while environment assets ranged from simple flora and rocks to wieldable tools and elaborate underwater set pieces. Each asset was crafted to help flesh out the game world, enhance player immersion, and create the signature Subnautica atmosphere.
A key element of the Subnautica series is the variety of alien flora and fauna the player discovers through their underwater explorations. Virtuos worked closely with Unknown Worlds to ensure the essence of this unique world was captured in 3D – blurring the line between real-world species and fictional alien creations.
Through this partnership, Virtuos was able to accurately help execute on Unknown Worlds’ vision, helping to craft a new, memorable underwater world for players to explore.
“Virtuos’ support was vital in helping us deliver the volume of assets needed to create a new compelling, iconic alien world in the Subnautica franchise. Their enthusiasm for collaboration was evident, and their commitment to understanding our goals allowed us to make whatever adjustments were necessary to meet the evolving needs of the project.”
Nico Williams
Producer, Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Virtuos is proud to have supported Unknown Worlds’ vision, bringing cross-discipline art expertise and close collaboration to help create the next chapter in the beloved Subnautica series.
