Subnautica 2 Studio’s New CEO Speaks Out Against Lawsuit by Co-Founders

In a new wrinkle to the clash between publisher and studio owner Krafton and Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds, the new CEO of the studio, Steve Papoutsis, has spoken out against the lawsuit by the studio’s three co-founders, Charlie Cleveland, Ted Gill and Max McGuire. In an interview with GamesRadar, Papoutsis, who took on the role earlier this month, spoke about how he doesn’t see Krafton as withholding the money the publisher owes the studio and its co-founders.

For context, the co-founders of Unknown Worlds have filed a lawsuit against Krafton alleging that the publisher has held back a $250 million payout from the studio and its founders by delaying the release of Subnautica 2. Papoutsis said that the things that he has been shown indicates that Krafton has been offering nothing but encouragement for the studio.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” said Papoutsis. “Personally, what was presented to me when I was asked to participate and help the team was nothing but encouragement for making a great game from Krafton.”

“A commitment to players, a commitment to the creative process, a commitment to ensuring that, when we do choose to go to Early Access, it meets players’ expectations. That is all that’s ever been discussed to me, and that is a huge part of why I felt good about stepping in and accepting this opportunity.”

In the interview, Papoutsis also spoke about how he sees his role as CEO at Unknown Worlds as a support role. He noted that the studio wasn’t in need of “creative leadership”, and that his job is to instead help the studio with planning out the development of Subnautica 2 on a day-to-day basis.

“I’m not coming into this situation where they need creative leadership,” he said. “They’ve got that covered, where they need a person to lead the day to day development plan. They’ve got that in place.

“I’m coming in to do whatever I can in terms of support within the greater organization to help keep an eye out for anything that’s related to the project that is not necessarily about the development – any other business related aspects, any alignment with partners, outside of the direct development team – and obviously, share my experience and my insights with the team as needed.”

Papoutsis noted that he isn’t “coming in here to upend any of the development. They’ve got a creative vision. They’ve got a wonderful team of developers. That is not what is required here. What’s required here is finding spots where I can provide value and support the team on any and all things related to development, not to insert myself into a situation.”

The clashes between Krafton and Unknown Worlds’ co-founders started when the decision was made to push back the Early Access release for Subnautica 2 by a year. Since then, the publisher has stated that there was an “absence of core leadership” at the studio, and that the leaked documents which indicated that quite a bit of content was missing from the game were real.

As part of the lawsuit, the three co-founders have claimed that Krafton has been taking part in a “months-long” campaign to delay Subnautica 2. For more details, check out our thoughts on the clash between the developer and the publisher.