Krafton Blames Subnautica Dev Founders For Subnautica 2 Delay, Claims They “Abandoned” Their Roles

Last week, Krafton, the parent company of Subnautica and Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds, announced that the three studio founders, Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill, were no longer with the studio, and that they would be replaced by former Striking Distance Studios head, Steve Papoutsis.

What followed were reassurances from the remaining Unknown Worlds team that Subnautica 2’s development was still in good hands as players suddenly had concerns now that three of the studio’s core members were gone, and that the team was “extremely proud” of what they were building with Subnautica 2. Cleveland also published a lengthy farewell statement to the game’s community, claiming that Subnautica 2 was ready to release in early access before the end of 2025, and that his and his two other co-founders’ departures were “quite a shock.”

Then, a little less than a week later, Bloomberg published a report that claimed that Subnautica 2 was delayed into 2026, just as Unknown Worlds was nearing revenue targets that would have netted the studio a $250 million bonus, per the agreement they signed when Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds in 2021. With Subnautica 2 pushed into 2026, members of the team at Unknown Worlds felt that the revenue goals it was meant to hit between 2021 and 2025 were now “unattainable,” and it seemed that Krafton’s decision to delay the early access launch might have stemmed from the company wanting to avoid paying the large bonus.

Hours after Bloomberg’s initial report, Krafton denied that the decision to delay the game came from any financial considerations or contract obligations, and Unknown Worlds confirmed that Subnautica 2 was delayed into 2026. The reason given for the delay pointed to feedback from an internal playtest, though according to Bloomberg’s report, at an internal meeting, Papoutsis told the development team that Krafton’s leaders believed Subnautica 2 needed more content before it could launch in early access.

Now, the story has become even more muddled, as Krafton published a lengthy statement of its own, in which it points the finger directly at Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill, claiming that the three co-founders “abandoned” their roles at the studio and their responsibilities, and that the blame falls to them for Subnautica 2 still not being out in early access. It calls their removal “inevitable” and “necessary” based on their actions and alleged refusal to fulfill their roles at the studio.

Krafton also claims that 90% of the $250 million bonus was going straight to the three co-founders, “with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2,” the statement reads.

“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 goes on to say that it has “committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s development,“ and that it has reaffirmed “our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised.”

Along with his initial report on Bloomberg, author Jason Schreier added that per documentation he received regarding the $250 million bonus, 10% of it was to be allocated between 40 members of the Unknown Worlds development team, all to receive varying amounts. He also said that the co-founders had intended to give some of their bonuses to other employees.

This has easily grown to become one of the year’s more unbelievable stories so far, and it wouldn’t be a surprise at this point if it evolved into a legal battle. We’ll update this story as it develops.