Drama surrounding "Subnautica 2": Fired developers and publisher go to court

Debora Pape

11.7.2025

Translation: machine translated

"Subnautica 2" is eagerly awaited - but will now be released later. This is apparently due to a dispute between the studio bosses who were sacked last week and the publisher.

Fans of the underwater survival game «Subnautica» will have to wait a little longer before they can dive into the sequel. In a press release, Californian studio Unknown Worlds announced the postponement of «Subnautica 2» to 2026. The game, which was announced in autumn 2024, was originally due to be released in 2025 - like the first part from 2018, initially in Early Access. «Subnautica 2» is the second most requested title on Steam.

The studio cites feedback from initial playtests as the official reason for the postponement: «A few areas» still need to be improved before the Early Access launch. The additional time will allow more biomes, more vehicle upgrades, more tools and more animals to be added. The story can also be rolled out more broadly. Along with the press release, the studio published a first gameplay trailer.

So far, so good (or bad). But the postponed release is just the tip of the iceberg: there has been a lot of rumbling behind the scenes in recent days. Details are gradually coming to light.

Postponement follows the dismissal of the management team

On 2 July, the South Korean publisher and studio owner Krafton surprisingly announced that it was replacing the entire management team at Unknown Worlds: The two studio founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire Krafton as well as CEO Ted Gill had to leave. According to a release, the rest of the team will remain in place. Krafton had bought Unknown Worlds in 2021 for 500 million US dollars.

A reason for the redundancies was not initially disclosed. In Krafton's official announcement regarding the personnel changes, the owner wished the three former employees all the best. Cleveland expressed his shock at the dismissal in an article on Reddit three days later - and stated that «Subnautica 2» was ready for Early Access.

The game is now ready for Early Access.

Was it about preventing a bonus payment?

A report by Bloomberg (paywall) on 9 July had already anticipated the postponement before it was officially confirmed. And sees a purely financial reason behind it: when the studio was acquired, Krafton had agreed a bonus payment of 250 million US dollars to the development team - if certain sales targets were met by the end of 2025.

According to Bloomberg, which cites sources who do not wish to be named, Krafton pushed through the postponement against the will of the (former) management team. Due to the later release of «Subnautica 2», the target agreements can no longer be fulfilled - the bonus is forfeited.

Serious accusations by Krafton

In the meantime, there is no more talk of «good wishes». Also on 9 July, Krafton published a statement with serious accusations against the former team leaders. In it, the publisher confirmed the 250 million dollar agreement and stated that it had paid out 90 per cent of the money to the three former managers in good faith in advance. In return, it was expected that they would actively participate in the development of the game.

Cleveland, Gill and McGuire, however, had not complied despite repeated requests. Cleveland preferred to devote himself to a private film project instead. The early access release of «Subnautica 2» was originally planned for early 2024, but the lack of leadership caused long delays. However, the rest of the development team continues to enjoy the full support of Krafton.

The statement concludes with the exceptionally clear words: «The behaviour of the previous leadership has deeply disappointed us and we feel betrayed because they have not honoured the trust our fans have placed in them».

Beginning of a war of the roses: lawsuits to follow

The fired team leaders are not prepared to take these accusations lying down. Cleveland takes a stand on Reddit. He reiterates that «Subnautica 2» is ready for release. He and his two colleagues have now filed a lawsuit against Krafton.

Subnautica is his life's work and things need to be set right. «Suing a multi-billion dollar company in a painful, public and perhaps protracted lawsuit was certainly not on my wish list», he writes. He does not specify whether he received the bonus payment, as Krafton states - but he makes it clear that the money, like all previous profits, was intended to be shared with the entire team.

What the development status of «Subnautica 2» actually looks like is unknown. However, it seems that the dispute between the founders and fathers of the game and the publisher is casting a shadow over further development.

Debora Pape

Editor

Debora.Pape@galaxus.de

Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.

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