Subnautica 2 Keeps Crashing? Fix!

Your game is crashing on launch or kicking you back to the desktop because of specific driver conflicts or corrupted local files. The most likely culprit if you have an RX 9000 series GPU is the AMD Adrenalin 26.5.1 driver, which causes a known incompatibility that developers are currently addressing.

Why this happens

The primary cause is an RDNA 4 GPU conflict with newer AMD drivers, though corrupted local shader caches and permission issues often trigger crashes on other systems.

What you'll need

You will need access to your Steam library and potentially the AMD Adrenalin 26.3.1 installer file downloaded from the official AMD website.

Steps

1. 01
   Download the AMD Adrenalin 26.3.1 driver from the AMD website, run the installer, and select the factory reset option to completely remove the conflicting 26.5.1 driver.
2. 02
   Open your Steam Library, right-click Subnautica 2, and select Properties, then navigate to Installed Files and click Verify integrity of game files to replace any corrupted data.
3. 03
   In the Steam Properties window, click the Browse button, right-click the Subnautica 2.exe file, and select Properties.
4. 04
   Go to the Compatibility tab and check both 'Run this program as an administrator' and 'Disable fullscreen optimizations' to resolve common permission and display conflicts.
5. 05
   Press the Windows key, type %LOCALAPPDATA%, and hit Enter to open your local data folder.
6. 06
   Locate the Subnautica 2 or Unknown Worlds folder and delete the shader cache files, ensuring you do not delete the folder labeled 'Save Games'.

Still not working?

If the game still crashes after these steps, perform a clean reinstall of the game to ensure no leftover files from previous versions are causing conflicts. Additionally, check your Windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs/Application to see if a specific DLL file is mentioned in the error, which may indicate a direct conflict with other installed software like anti-virus or overlay tools.

Frequently asked questions

Will deleting files in LocalAppData lose my game progress?

No, as long as you do not delete the 'Save Games' folder within that directory, your progress will remain intact.

Do I need to keep the older AMD driver permanently?

You should use the 26.3.1 driver as a temporary workaround until the developers or AMD release an official update that specifically addresses the RDNA 4 crash.