Subnautica 2 Buddy System Update: EA 1.2 Co-op Features Live
EA 1.2 Buddy System shipped August 19, 2026: Proximity Chat, Player Revive, Emotes and Player Trading are live. What changed for co-op routes and what is still pending.
Checked September 6, 2026. Feature list per Unknown Worlds’ official Buddy System announcement; launch date per IGN’s coverage. Verify each feature in your own session before planning a team route around it.
EA 1.2 “Buddy System” Shipped August 19
The co-op centric update from the Early Access roadmap is live. The four headline multiplayer gaps players had been working around are closed:
| Feature | What it does now | Retired workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Proximity Chat | Positional voice — you hear teammates based on where they are | External voice apps (Discord) |
| Player Revive | Downed teammates can be revived in the field | Respawn-at-Biobed only |
| Player Trading | Easier item and inventory sharing between players | Manual drops and shared base storage |
| Emotes | Quick in-game expression for underwater and base communication | Ping spam |
What This Changes for Team Routes
- Voice is built in. Route calls no longer depend on everyone being in the same Discord; proximity chat is enough for close-quarters coordination and biome sweeps.
- Downed is no longer a wipe. Plan slightly riskier cave entries: a field revive can save a return trip to a Biobed.
- Loot splits are faster. Trading makes the “one diver carries all Silver” pattern unnecessary — pass resources mid-route instead.
- Map guidance is unchanged. Buddy System does not move POIs, biome boundaries or resource spawns; every marker on the interactive map keeps its source tag.
What Is Still Not in the Game
The Buddy System notes do not list HUD Signals, the Base Builder Tool or the Pinned Recipes system from the older roadmap — treat those as pending until a patch note names them. IGN also reports the developers gave a first glimpse at the next major update (Early Access 2), which has no public date yet.
Sources
- Unknown Worlds — Buddy System update announcement (official)
- IGN — Subnautica 2 patch adds Buddy System; devs reveal glimpse at Early Access 2
- Shacknews — Buddy System Update 1.2 multiplayer coverage
Related: the multiplayer guide now reflects these features as live, and the roadmap tracker keeps the remaining EA 2 items separated.