Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds’ parent company, Krafton, has issued another statement, this time confirming that an internal milestone document leaked online is authentic.
As Matt explained for us last week, Subnautica 2 became the unexpected focus of industry drama last week when Krafton announced it was ‘replacing’ three key members of Unknown Worlds’ leadership team – including studio founder and original Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland – with Steve Papoutsis, CEO of The Callisto Protocol studio Striking Distance. At the time, Krafton insisted it had “sought to keep the… co-founders and original creators of the Subnautica series involved in the game’s development”, despite their departure.
Fan pushback was swift, and the situation only grew murkier after Bloomberg reported Cleveland, as well as Unknown Worlds’ chief executive officer Ted Gill and special projects director Max McGuire, had all been “pushed out” amid Krafton’s sudden decision to shift Subnautica 2’s early access launch from its announced “2025” window into 2026.