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Subnautica studio co-founder says he's suing parent company Krafton
Subnautica studio co-founder says he's suing parent company Krafton

Engadget

time3 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Engadget

Subnautica studio co-founder says he's suing parent company Krafton

The drama surrounding the significantly delayed release of Subnautica 2 continues with Charlie Cleveland, co-founder and former director of Unknown Worlds Entertainment, announcing via a post on X that he and unnamed others have filed a lawsuit against Krafton , the studio's parent company since 2021. Cleveland, along with Ted Gill and Max McGuire, were relieved of their leadership roles at Unknown Worlds last week by Krafton. Bloomberg reported that they had been effectively "pushed out." This occurred shortly before Krafton would reportedly owe Unknown Worlds leadership a $250 million bonus for meeting certain goals. The alleged lawsuit follows Krafton's recent statement accusing Cleveland and other studio leadership of "abandoning their responsibilities." The parent company claims these executives' behavior led to significant delays in Subnautica 2 's early access release, which is now slated for early 2026. Krafton also claimed that approximately 90 percent of the $250 million bonus was already paid out to Cleveland, Gill and McGuire. In his post , Cleveland strongly refuted Krafton's claims, asserting that Subnautica 2 is in fact "ready for early access" and that any allegations regarding abdication of leadership and financial motivations are false. "Subnautica has been my life's work and I would never willingly abandon it," Cleveland wrote. He also firmly denied accusations that he and other executives intended to keep the promised $250 million bonus for themselves, saying, "I'm in this industry because I love it, not for riches. Historically we've always shared our profits with the team and did the same when we sold the studio. You can be damned sure we'll continue with the earnout/bonus as well." Details about the lawsuit, including the jurisdiction, named parties or specific causes of action remain unclear. Subnautica 2 is still slated for an early access launch sometime in 2026, though it remains to be seen if this new legal drama will cause further delays.

Krafton slams ex-Subnautica 2 execs and claims it'll give developers their ‘promised' reward
Krafton slams ex-Subnautica 2 execs and claims it'll give developers their ‘promised' reward

The Verge

time4 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • The Verge

Krafton slams ex-Subnautica 2 execs and claims it'll give developers their ‘promised' reward

Subnautica 2 has been at the center of a contentious debate between leadership at its developer Unknown Worlds and the game's publisher, Krafton Games. At stake is a $250 million payout, promised to Unknown Worlds if the studio hit certain revenue targets by the end of this year. But a company shakeup and the subsequent delay of Subnautica 2 has rocked the studio and potentially imperiled the promised payout. On July 2nd, Krafton announced that Steve Papoutsis, CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios would be taking over as the CEO of Unknown Worlds, replacing the current leadership of Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire with immediate effect. The following week, on July 9th, Unknown Worlds announced that early access for Subnautica 2 would be delayed to 2026. According to the announcement, Subnautica 2 was in good shape, but closed testing revealed 'some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world.' That same day, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported that this delay was against the wishes of Unknown Worlds' former leadership and that there were serious financial implications for this delay. According to Schreier's report, when Krafton purchased Unknown Worlds, in 2021 it promised a $250 million bonus to the studio if it hit revenue targets by the end of 2025. Schreier's reporting also indicated that the bonus was planned to be shared among the studio's roughly 100 employees with some being promised bonuses in the seven figures. With Subnautica 2's delay, those revenue targets will likely not be hit, and those bonuses not paid out. In a statement to Bloomberg, Krafton said the delay was only to improve Subnautica 2's quality, and it's possible to envision a situation where Krafton delayed the game in order to get out of paying out the bonus. However, Krafton has issued a new statement that seemingly throws cold water over this interpretation. The statement says that Krafton had 'allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives' with the 'expectation' that the executives would 'demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.' The statement then accuses the ousted leadership of essentially abandoning development on the game while affirming 'fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees.' Here's the statement in full, which you can also see on Krafton's website. To Our 12 Million Fellow Subnauts, — Inevitable Leadership Change Driven by Project Abandonment–Despite Holding 90% of Earnout for Themselves First and foremost, we sincerely thank you for your continued support, passion, and unwavering dedication to Subnautica. We wish to provide clarity on the recent leadership changes at Unknown Worlds, a creative studio under KRAFTON. Background of Leadership Change KRAFTON deeply values Subnautica's unique creativity and immersive world-building. To provide fans with even better gaming experiences, we acquired Unknown Worlds, fully committed to supporting Subnautica's future success. We collaborated closely with the studio's leadership, who were central to the creation of the original Subnautica, to foster the optimal environment for a successful Subnautica 2. Specifically, in addition to the initial $500 million purchase price, we allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives, with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2. 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 current Early Access version also falls short in terms of content 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's Full Support for the Dedicated Development Team To uphold our commitment to provide you with the best possible gaming experience, we made the difficult yet necessary decision to change the executive leadership. Subnautica 2 has been and continues to be actively developed by a dedicated core team who share genuine passion, accountability, and commitment to the game. We deeply respect their expertise and creativity and will continue to provide full and unwavering support, enabling them to focus solely on delivering the exceptional game you deserve. KRAFTON's Commitment to its Promises in Rewarding Employees Additionally, KRAFTON has committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2's development. We believe that the dedication and effort of this team are at the very heart of Subnautica's ongoing evolution, and we reaffirm our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised. Fans will always remain at the center of every decision we make at KRAFTON. Moving forward, we promise transparent communication and continued efforts to sustainably develop and expand the beloved Subnautica universe. Honoring your trust and expectations is a core tenet at KRAFTON. We are committed to repaying your patience with an even more refined and exceptional gaming experience.

Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report
Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report

Metro

time4 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Metro

Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report

A surprise change in leadership and a delay in its release date now haunt Subnautica 2. The most wishlisted Steam game right now is, unsurprisingly, the ever-elusive Hollow Knight: Silksong. In second place, however, is not something super mainstream like Resident Evil Requiem or Borderlands 4, but underwater survival game Subnautica 2. Clearly, the Steam community really enjoyed the original Subnautica from 2018 (as did we) and is very excited for its sequel. Much like the first game, developer Unknown Worlds intended to launch Subnautica 2 in early access, with a 2025 date confirmed at an Xbox event last year. However, publisher Krafton (the South Korean company best known for battle royale PUBG Battlegrounds) has opted to push the game into 2026 and while it says this is because it needs extra development time, the company has been accused of having ulterior motives that involve avoiding paying bonuses to Subnautica 2's staff. It has been an incredibly hectic couple of weeks for Unknown Worlds, which Krafton acquired in 2021, a few months after the release of spin-off game Subnautica: Below Zero. Last week, out of nowhere, Krafton announced it had replaced Unknown Worlds' leadership team – including Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland – with Steve Papoutsis taking over as the new CEO while still maintaining his position as CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios. No real reason was given for the sudden change in leadership, with Krafton only saying it was for the sake of 'delivering the best possible game for the Subnautica community.' Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. This is also why Subnautica 2's early access launch is being delayed to 2026; a decision that was made shortly after the leadership change, according to a Bloomberg report. Yet according to a lengthy Reddit post by Cleveland (who described his removal from Unknown Worlds as 'quite a shock'), Subnautica 2 is 'ready for early access release,' implying there's no need for a delay. According to Bloomberg, Krafton's decision also happens to come a few months before it was meant to pay Unknown Worlds' staff a $250 million (£184 million) bonus. When Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds, its purchase agreement stated this bonus would be awarded if the studio met certain revenue targets by the end of 2025. If Unknown Worlds managed to achieve this, the plan was for the bonus to be shared among all 100 members of the studio, with Bloomberg's sources claiming staff were eligible for bonuses for upwards of seven figures. With Subnautica 2's early access launch delayed, however, it's far less likely that Unknown Worlds will reach those revenue targets, which according to Bloomberg has prompted allegations that the delay is an effort by Krafton to get out of paying staff the extra $250 million. More Trending Bloomberg adds that staff questioned Papoutsis about this during a company town hall meeting. Papoutsis said: 'It's never been told to me that we're making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that,' insisting Krafton simply didn't think Subnautica 2 was ready to launch this year. In a separate statement, Krafton itself has denied any such allegations, saying the decision 'was not influenced by any contractual or financial considerations.' Even so, fan response has been negative. Top posts on the Subnautica subreddit are overwhelmingly critical of Krafton, with some asking fellow fans that they remove Subnautica 2 from their wishlist and refuse to buy the game once it launches. A new gameplay trailer that dropped last night is also inundated with demands that Krafton give Unknown Worlds' staff their bonuses, although its like/dislike ratio is favourable, with 55,000 likes compared to 6,300 dislikes. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Hi-Fi Rush 2 looks likely as former Xbox studio Tango Gameworks is revived by Krafton MORE: The Sims clone inZOI is set to be the surprise hit of 2025 MORE: The Callisto Protocol was released too early and content was cut says director

Subnautica 2's early access release delayed to 2026 amid developer drama
Subnautica 2's early access release delayed to 2026 amid developer drama

Engadget

time4 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Engadget

Subnautica 2's early access release delayed to 2026 amid developer drama

Subnautica 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games around. It's the second-most wishlisted game on Steam behind (you guessed it) Hollow Knight: Silksong . However, you'll need to wait longer than anticipated to try Subnautica 2 in four-player co-op, as the survival game's early access release has been delayed until early 2026. Developer Unknown Worlds said that community members who took part in playtests provided positive feedback about the story, creatures, environment and general direction of the game. However, the studio said, they "also provided some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world. Our community is at the heart of how we develop, so we want to give ourselves a little extra time to respond to more of that feedback before releasing the game into early access. With that in mind, we've made the decision to delay Subnautica 2 's early access release to 2026." To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. The delay will afford Unknown Worlds a chance to add more biomes, tools, vehicle upgrades and creatures while expanding the story, the studio said. Players can expect more details in the coming months. But news of the delay comes amid behind-the-scenes drama at Unknown Worlds. Bloomberg reports that the studio had been in line for a $250 million bonus (which the leadership group planned to share with employees) from Krafton if it hit revenue goals by the end of this year. The delay reportedly means Unknown Worlds is very unlikely to hit those targets. As such, Bloomberg 's sources suggest that means the team of around 100 people may not be eligible for the payout. Last week, Krafton — which bought Unknown Worlds in 2021 — turfed out the studio's leadership team of CEO Ted Gill and co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. The publisher brought in Steve Papoutsis, a former executive at The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance, as the new CEO of Unknown Worlds. "There is nothing more important than the gamer experience. Given the anticipation around Subnautica 2 , we owe our players nothing less than the best possible game, as soon as possible," Krafton CEO CH Kim said in a statement, "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." Per Bloomberg , Papoutsis told employees this week that Krafton didn't believe Subnautica 2 was ready for an early access release and claimed he didn't know the specifics of the contract regarding the quarter-billion-dollar bonus. "It's never been told to me that we're making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that," he reportedly told staff. According to Cleveland, however, Subnautica 2 is actually "ready for early access release." The studio's co-founder wrote in a lengthy X post on July 5 that "while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton's hands." A Krafton spokesperson told Eurogamer that the decision to delay Subnautica 2 was "based solely on our commitment to quality and to delivering the best possible experience for players" and it was not "influenced by any contractual or financial considerations." They added that "the decision had already been under discussion prior to recent leadership changes at the studio."

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