It is one of the strangest and most public fallings out in latest video games business historical past. The management group of Subnautica studio Unknown Worlds have been not too long ago eliminated by proprietor and writer Krafton, Inc., inflicting debate and hypothesis round worker bonuses tied to Subnautica 2’s Early Entry launch.
Subnautica 2, for these not conscious, is the second most-wishlisted recreation on Steam and a sequel to 1 of the most profitable survival video games on PC and consoles.
Former CEO Ted Gill, co-founder and artistic director Charlie Cleveland, and co-founder and CTO Max McGuire have been faraway from the studio, changed by Steve Papoustis, who’s additionally CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Hanging Distance.
What adopted was an ongoing spat surrounding the improvement of the Subnautica sequel, with allegations going back-and-forth on royalties and progress of the recreation’s improvement.
It is an unusually messy scenario, with a fascinating perception into the relationship between developer and writer, in addition to the parameters of what’s thought-about acceptable for a Steam Early Entry launch when there’s a lot of cash on the line.
With Subnautica 2 pushed again from a 2025 Steam Early Entry launch to 2026, the scenario is far from over, with an upcoming lawsuit threatened by the ousted management group.
As extra information unfolds, GamesIndustry.biz will replace the timeline under with new data because it involves mild. Here is every thing we all know so far about Krafton versus the former management group of Unknown Worlds.
October 31, 2021
South Korean writer Krafton, proprietor of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, proclaims it is buying US-based Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds, which launched the profitable standalone enlargement Subnautica: Under Zero out of Early Entry earlier that 12 months.
“Unknown Worlds’ construction and management will stay in place to retain its distinctive inventive identification,” Krafton mentioned in the announcement at the time.
“Along with ongoing updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Under Zero, Unknown Worlds is at present engaged on a new genre-defining recreation, which is slated to launch into early entry in 2022.”
September 29, 2022
That “genre-defining recreation” seems to be digital miniature recreation Moonbreaker, which launches in Steam Early Entry to heated criticism over microtransactions (that are later eliminated). A full launch follows in 2024. Krafton ultimately calls Moonbreaker a “failure”.
October 17, 2024
Subnautica 2 is proven in a first teaser trailer, which guarantees an Early Entry launch will comply with in 2025 for PC and Xbox.
July 2, 2025
Krafton proclaims Steve Papoustis will change the management group of Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire at Unknown Worlds. “Whereas Krafton sought to maintain the Unknown Worlds’ co-founders and authentic creators of the Subnautica collection concerned in the recreation’s improvement, the firm needs them properly on their subsequent endeavors,” learn a assertion.
No cause is obtainable for his or her departure, however given events that comply with, it is doable to learn between the strains on how Krafton felt about the progress being made with Subnautica 2.
“As half of its oversight, Krafton is dedicated to attaining common milestones to evaluate progress throughout its inventive studios,” the assertion learn. “These evaluations, based mostly on clearly outlined metrics and targets, will assist be sure that video games meet each inventive and high quality requirements. This course of is crucial to delivering the proper recreation at the proper time. Unknown Worlds’ new management totally helps this course of and is dedicated to assembly participant expectations.”
July 4, 2025
Cleveland responded to the transfer along with his personal assertion posted on Reddit and his website, calling Krafton’s determination “fairly a shock”. He additionally claimed the recreation is “prepared for early entry launch”.
“And whereas we thought this was going to be our determination to make, not less than for now, that call is in Krafton’s palms,” Cleveland mentioned. “And in any case these years, to search out that I am now not in a position to work at the firm I began stings.”
July 9, 2025
Subnautica 2’s Early Entry launch is delayed till 2026. Bloomberg reports that $250 million of developer bonuses are tied up in the recreation reaching sure income targets by the finish of 2025. It additionally says the studio’s former management deliberate to share the bonuses with the 100-or-so workers at the firm.
In a assertion to Eurogamer, a Krafton spokesperson mentioned delaying the recreation was “beneath dialogue” previous to the change in management, and that the determination was not “influenced by any contractual or monetary issues”.
As an alternative, the cause given was based mostly on recreation content material and a spherical of neighborhood playtests.
“Throughout playtests for Subnautica 2, we acquired beneficial suggestions from our neighborhood that strengthened our confidence in the recreation’s path. At the identical time, the suggestions highlighted a few areas that would profit from additional refinement earlier than launch,” the spokesperson instructed Eurogamer.
“As neighborhood voices play a central function in how we form our video games, we have made the determination to offer the improvement group extra time to implement that suggestions and ship a extra full expertise. As a outcome, Subnautica 2’s Early Entry launch has been rescheduled for 2026.”
This tallies with the reasoning given on the Subnautica 2 website – although that one would not talk about management modifications or compensation issues.
July 10, 2025
The scenario escalates. In an unprecedented transfer for a main writer, Krafton posts a assertion on its official homepage taking intention at the ousted management of Unknown Worlds with the strapline, “Inevitable Management Change Pushed by Challenge Abandonment – Regardless of Holding 90% of Earnout for Themselves”.
The assertion first discusses how the studio acquired Unknown Worlds for the functions of making a robust sequel to a best-selling recreation. The dialogue then turns extra on to the bonus scenario mentioned in Bloomberg’s article.
“Particularly, along with the preliminary $500 million buy value, we allotted roughly 90% of the as much as $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives, with the expectation that they’d show management and energetic involvement in the improvement of Subnautica 2.”
“Nonetheless, regrettably, the former management deserted the tasks entrusted to them. Subnautica 2 was initially deliberate for an Early Entry launch in early 2024, however the timeline has since been considerably delayed. Krafton made a number of requests to Charlie and Max to renew their roles as recreation director and technical director, respectively, however each declined to do so.”
From right here, Krafton’s assertion will get a little extra particular on what it believes wasn’t working behind the scenes of Subnautica 2.
“Particularly, following the failure of Moonbreaker, Krafton requested Charlie to dedicate himself to the improvement of Subnautica 2. Nonetheless, as a substitute of collaborating in the recreation improvement, he selected to deal with a private movie undertaking.”
The assertion then says that the alleged management “absence” has meant “repeated confusion and vital delays” for the undertaking.
“The present Early Entry model additionally falls brief in phrases of content material quantity.”
That is adopted by Krafton explaining its disappointment with the conduct of the former management group, saying it feels “a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the belief positioned in them by our followers.”
The assertion additionally elaborates on the compensation scenario and what it’s going to imply for remaining employees at the studio, though not with specifics.
“Moreover, Krafton has dedicated to truthful and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds workers who’ve constantly and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s improvement.”
“We imagine that the dedication and energy of this group are at the very coronary heart of Subnautica’s ongoing evolution, and we reaffirm our dedication to supply the rewards they have been promised.”
In response on Reddit, Cleveland posts “we all know in our souls that the recreation is prepared for Early Entry – that’s simply how we roll. And we might like nothing greater than so that you can play it (recreation devs reside for this). Nevertheless it’s not at present beneath our management.”
Cleveland then mentions a lawsuit is brewing in opposition to Krafton. “We’ve now filed a lawsuit in opposition to Krafton: the particulars ought to ultimately turn into (not less than largely) public – you all deserve the full story. Suing a multi-billion greenback firm in a painful, public and probably protracted approach was definitely not on my bucket checklist. However this must be made proper.”
Cleveland additionally denies that 90% of the $250 million bonus would’ve gone straight of their pockets, explaining that they’d all the time shared their income with the group. “As for the earnout, the concept that Max, Ted and I needed to maintain all of it for ourselves is completely unfaithful.”
July 11, 2025
Two slides from a Might 2025 milestone overview for Subnautica 2 are leaked (posted on r/Subnautica here). They seem to indicate that focused content material for the Early Entry launch was scaled down from objectives set each a couple of years in the past and one 12 months in the past, with the quantity of biomes, creatures, and modes lower down for a deliberate launch, amongst different modifications.
“As a consequence of a hole between the present state and the content material quantity assumed throughout the preliminary launch planning, it’s essential to reassess the launch timeline and roadmap,” one slide concludes.
No matter conclusions may be drawn from these slides, it is value saying that they lack context (together with the relaxation of the presentation) and are the kind of inside documentation that is usually not supposed to be considered by the public.
July 13, 2025
.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=70&format=jpg&auto=webp)
Krafton takes the uncommon step of confirming the slides from the leaked inside milestone doc are the actual deal in a assertion, which was despatched to GamesIndustry.biz.
“Krafton, Inc. is issuing the following assertion in response to rising hypothesis surrounding the improvement of Subnautica 2. This assertion goals to supply readability and context relating to the present scenario,” the assertion reads.
“The doc that has been circulating on social media and reported by varied retailers is certainly half of an inside milestone overview performed as half of the Subnautica 2 undertaking. Krafton has confirmed that parts of it have been leaked and at the moment are being broadly shared throughout on-line platforms and inside the fan neighborhood. Krafton recognises the confusion this has triggered.”
“Given these circumstances, Krafton has decided that clear communication is critical and has chosen to substantiate the authenticity of the doc. Krafton believes that minimising hypothesis and guaranteeing correct communication with gamers should take priority.”
The assertion then explains the functions of milestone evaluations for context.
“These evaluations assist assess improvement progress, outline clear aims, and be sure that every undertaking aligns with Krafton’s requirements in each creativity and high quality. This course of is central to Krafton’s dedication to delivering polished, high-quality video games at the proper time.”
Who leaked the slides from the milestone report? That is unknown.
What occurs subsequent? We await particulars of the promised lawsuit, whereas work on Subnautica 2 continues at Unknown Worlds.
Ubisoft Refuses To Comment On Tencent Rumors But Says It’s Exploring Options To Maximize Value