Subnautica 2 writer Krafton launched an uncommon assertion final week. Unknown Worlds co-founders Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire had been being instantly faraway from the studio and changed by Hanging Distance Studios chief improvement officer Steve Papoutsis. A wholesale management change 20 years later, proper earlier than the launch of the second-most wishlisted sport on Steam? Followers bought fearful.
Krafton had “sought to maintain the Unknown Worlds’ co-founders and authentic creators of the Subnautica sequence concerned within the sport’s improvement,” however they had been leaving anyway, the studio wrote in its press launch. No cause was given for why that didn’t work out. Cleveland, who directed the primary sport, has now damaged his silence, shedding some potential mild on an influence battle dealing with one among 2025’s most-anticipated PC releases.
“We all know that the sport is prepared for early entry launch and we all know you’re able to play it,” he wrote on Reddit on Monday. “And whereas we thought this was going to be our choice to make, no less than for now, that call is in Krafton’s palms. And in spite of everything these years, to search out that I’m not in a position to work on the firm I began stings.”
In accordance with Cleveland, the sudden upheaval got here as a shock. The underwater survival exploration sim was set to return to Steam Early Entry in some unspecified time in the future later this yr, however as we reported final week the cryptic press launch from Krafton steered which may not be the case. It alluded to quality control and a milestone course of wanted to make sure the sport meets participant expectations.
“As a part of its oversight, Krafton is dedicated to attaining common milestones to evaluate progress throughout its inventive studios,” the writer wrote. “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 important to delivering the precise sport on the proper time. Unknown Worlds’ new management totally helps this course of and is dedicated to assembly participant expectations.”
Studying between the traces of Cleveland’s Reddit submit, it feels like there was a elementary disagreement over whether or not to ship sooner and get Subnautica 2 into gamers’ palms for suggestions, or wait doubtlessly till 2026 to make the sport playable to the general public. Cleveland and the others offered Unknown Worlds to Krafton in 2021, at which period the writer claimed it will proceed to “perform as an unbiased sport improvement studio.” I suppose in 2025 meaning independently of the co-founders.
Replace 7/8/2025 9:09 a.m. ET: A rep for Krafton declined to touch upon why Unknown Worlds’ founders had been pressured out however instructed Kotaku in an e-mail that in terms of the Early Entry launch later this yr, “some changes to the schedule could also be required.” Right here’s the complete assertion:
Our prime precedence proper now could be delivering the absolute best model of Subnautica 2 to our followers.
Following the current management transition, we’re within the strategy of refining our improvement plans and making ready for an Early Entry launch below a extra clearly outlined imaginative and prescient.
Some changes to the schedule could also be required, and additional particulars can be shared quickly.
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