Subnautica 2’s EULA – that’s end-user license agreement – has been picked apart by curious fans, who have discovered a handful of eyebrow-raising clauses such as a ban on VPN use as well as a maximum payout of $50 in the case of a user suffering damages.
These clauses, which can be read in full by those who buy a copy of the game, include a range of clauses meant to protect the developer and publisher from a range of situations. This includes copyright infringement, protection from bug exploitation, and so on.
Nonetheless, these clauses have been highlighted by concerned players, who have shared the EULA online. This includes a post on the StopKillingGames Subreddit,a community hub for the consumer protection movement focused on the video game industry.
While many of the clauses are causing outrage among a portion of the Subnautica 2 fanbase, a few appear especially egregious. One controversial clause outlines Krafton’s right to take away access to the game at any time, and for any reason. Another notes that a player is supposedly not able to play the game on multiple devices without multiple licenses. Another states there’s a maximum damage payout of $50 in case of user damages. And there’s also a ban on using VPNs while playing the game.
Should you be worried about any of these? Honestly, not really. It is not uncommon for EULAs to include clauses that are not actually enforceable in a court of law. As was established in cases like ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg (1996) in the United States, clauses you sign in a massive EULA does not give a company a free pass to ignore consumer protection rights, for example.
Plus, there are some clauses that have already been challenged by the developers themselves, such as the outright ban on modding. The original Subnautica had plenty of mods openly available, leading to a healthy and loyal community. Unknown Worlds’ Sam Dark noted in the Subnautica 2 Discord that the plan is the same for the second game.
“We will not be taking action against player made mods, as long as they follow the few simple rules Donya shared a while back (like not selling the mods),” wrote Dark. “A bunch of us are in the modding discord, the studio was founded by modders and a few of our playtesters here are modders.”
So all in all, the EULA shouldn’t stop you from trying out the game if you are interested in doing so. If you’re still on the fence, Eurogamer’s early impressions piece may push you over the edge on the uber popular oceanic survival game.
