Krafton has announced a major leadership exodus from Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds, in a move that casts fresh doubt on the prospects of Subnautica 2: which was scheduled to launch in early access this year, but is nowhere to be seen.
Subnautica designer and director Charlie Cleveland, CEO Ted Gill, and co-founder Max McGuire have all left Unknown Worlds. Steve Papoutsis, formerly of Visceral Games and most recently CEO of Striking Distance Studios (The Callisto Protocol), is the new CEO of Unknown Worlds "effective immediately."
The clipped corporate tones of the press release suggest some serious background tensions, but what is most notable is the timing: Subnautica 2 has been in development for at least four years and, in the window it should have been released, the studio's creative leadership has left instead.
"While Krafton sought to keep the Unknown Worlds' co-founders and original creators of the Subnautica series involved in the game's development, the company wishes them well on their next endeavors," says Krafton. As for Subnautica 2, it pointedly adds that Papoutsis "will bring renewed energy and momentum to delivering the long-anticipated Subnautica 2 experience to fans."
Then there's this little backhand from the Krafton CEO, implying that Subnautica 2 will turn out to be a better game for this.
"There is nothing more important than the gamer experience," said Krafton CEO Changhan Kim. "Given the anticipation around Subnautica 2, we owe our players nothing less than the best possible game, as soon as possible. We are thrilled Steve is joining us in our shared commitment at Krafton and Unknown Worlds to deliver Subnautica 2 as a more complete and satisfying entry in the series—one that truly lives up to player expectations."
For his part Papoutsis at least manages some kind words for the departed: "We appreciate Ted, Charlie and Max for their past roles in having built this beloved world, and thank the fans for your devotion and patience."
There are all sorts of odd phrases in the press release announcing this shake-up, but the telling one is probably that the new leadership will "prioritize development momentum." Krafton obviously wasn't happy with the pace and/or direction of Subnautica 2 under the studio's old leadership, and at one point outright says that Unknown Worlds wasn't hitting its internal metrics:
"As part of its oversight, Krafton is committed to achieving regular milestones to assess progress across its creative studios. These reviews, based on clearly defined metrics and targets, will help ensure that games meet both creative and quality standards. This process is essential to delivering the right game at the right time."
Then the kicker: "Unknown Worlds' new leadership fully supports this process and is committed to meeting player expectations."
This is not the end for Unknown Worlds, obviously, but it is a rather sad moment in the studio's history. It was founded in May 2001 by Cleveland around developers involved in the Half-Life mod, Natural Selection, and developed the standalone sequel Natural Selection 2 before Subnautica became the studio's breakout hit. Krafton acquired the studio in 2021 and it was all smiles, with Cleveland saying at the time that "we’re truly looking forward to our future together." Subnautica fans will now be wondering what exactly that future looks like.
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