Krafton Hit With Lawsuit Following Firing of Subnautica 2’s Leads
For those out of the know, Subnautica 2‘s early access has been delayed to 2026 after news of Krafton firing the studio’s leads. Krafton noted that the game needed more time, although its co-founders stated otherwise, saying that the game was fully ready for early access. With reports that the publisher was doing this to avoid paying a $250,000,000 bonus, Krafton issued a statement to clarify the situation.
And now a new development has arisen, with the co-founders of Unknown Worlds Entertainment now suing Krafton.
Krafton Claims Studio Leads Abandoned Their Responsibilities
Earlier today, Krafton issued a statement to explain the ongoing situation at Unknown Worlds Entertainment and its motives behind the firing. According to Krafton, the three former executives abandoned their responsibilities on Subnautica 2, as the title was initially slated for early access in early 2024, but had seen multiple delays, eventually leading up to the latest one. The full statement reads:
First and foremost, we sincerely thank you for your continued support, passion, and unwavering dedication to Subnautica. We wish to provide clarity on the recent leadership changes at Unknown Worlds, a creative studio under KRAFTON.
Background of Leadership Change
KRAFTON deeply values Subnautica’s unique creativity and immersive world-building. To provide fans with even better gaming experiences, we acquired Unknown Worlds, fully committed to supporting Subnautica’s future success. We collaborated closely with the studio’s leadership, who were central to the creation of the original Subnautica, to foster the optimal environment for a successful Subnautica 2.
Specifically, in addition to the initial $500 million purchase price, we allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives, with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.
However, regrettably, the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them. Subnautica 2 was originally planned for an Early Access launch in early 2024, but the timeline has since been significantly delayed. KRAFTON made multiple requests to Charlie and Max to resume their roles as Game Director and Technical Director, respectively, but both declined to do so. In particular, following the failure of Moonbreaker, KRAFTON asked Charlie to devote himself to the development of Subnautica 2. However, instead of participating in the game development, he chose to focus on a personal film project.
KRAFTON believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule.
The current Early Access version also falls short in terms of content volume.
We are deeply disappointed by the former leadership’s conduct, and above all, we feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the trust placed in them by our fans.
KRAFTON’s Full Support for the Dedicated Development Team
To uphold our commitment to provide you with the best possible gaming experience, we made the difficult yet necessary decision to change the executive leadership. Subnautica 2 has been and continues to be actively developed by a dedicated core team who share genuine passion, accountability, and commitment to the game. We deeply respect their expertise and creativity and will continue to provide full and unwavering support, enabling them to focus solely on delivering the exceptional game you deserve.
KRAFTON’s Commitment to its Promises in Rewarding Employees
Additionally, KRAFTON has committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s development. We believe that the dedication and effort of this team are at the very heart of Subnautica’s ongoing evolution, and we reaffirm our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised.
Fans will always remain at the center of every decision we make at KRAFTON. Moving forward, we promise transparent communication and continued efforts to sustainably develop and expand the beloved Subnautica universe.
Honoring your trust and expectations is a core tenet at KRAFTON. We are committed to repaying your patience with an even more refined and exceptional gaming experience.
There are some rather big claims in this statement, and whether any of it is true or not, it seems that the statement has not sit well with the co-founders, as Charlie Cleveland has announced that they are suing Krafton.
Co-Founders Fire Back With a Lawsuit
As announced on X, Charlie Cleveland, one of the co-founders of the studio working on Subnautica 2, has stated that he, along with Max McGuire (co-founder) and Ted Gill (former CEO), will be pursuing legal action against Krafton regarding this incident.
Hello everyone,
It continues to be an explosive and surreal time for the Subnautica team and community. None of this is what we wanted. But we truly appreciate the amazing support we’ve gotten from everyone. It means a lot to us, especially now.
As I wrote last week, we know in our souls that the game is ready for Early Access – that’s just how we roll. And we’d like nothing more than for you to play it (game devs live for this). But it’s not currently under our control.
We’ve now filed a lawsuit against Krafton: the details should eventually become (at least mostly) public – you all deserve the full story. Suing a multi-billion dollar company in a painful, public and possibly protracted way was certainly not on my bucket list. But this needs to be made right. Subnautica has been my life’s work and I would never willingly abandon it or the amazing team that has poured their hearts into it.
As for the earnout, the idea that Max, Ted and I wanted to keep it all for ourselves is totally untrue. I’m in this industry because I love it, not for riches. Historically we’ve always shared our profits with the team and did the same when we sold the studio. You can be damned sure we’ll continue with the earnout/bonus as well. They deserve it for all their incredible work trying to get this great game into your hands.
Stay tuned.
As the lawsuit moves forward, it’s clear this is more than just a dispute over game delays; it’s a battle over creative control, compensation, and the future of one of indie gaming’s most beloved franchises. With two very different stories emerging from Krafton and the former leadership of Unknown Worlds, the legal proceedings may ultimately be the only way to uncover what really happened behind the scenes of Subnautica 2. In the meantime, fans are left in limbo, waiting not just for the game’s release, but for the truth.
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Does anyone actually buy what Krafton is saying here? It doesn’t add up, and it’s hard to believe the people that created Subnautica “abandoned their responsibilities”. This story is a tale as old as time: small indie studio makes a great game, huge corporation buys the franchise, franchise gets ruined because of corporate interference. It’s just boring at this point, but what really sucks is Subnautica 2, more than likely, will not be anywhere near as good as the first.