In a press release to PC Gamer, Krafton has confirmed the legitimacy of a leaked Subnautica 2 improvement evaluation beforehand reported on by Kotaku. The Krafton improvement evaluation “really helpful to reinforce the content material quantity and degree of polish earlier than launching.”
The delay of Subnautica 2 has been the first driver of the dispute between former Unknown Worlds senior management Charlie Cleveland, Ted Gill, and Max McGuire, and mega-publisher Krafton, which bought the studio again in 2021.
The 2 slides come from an inside presentation exhibiting Krafton’s evaluation of Subnautica 2’s improvement standing as of Might 2025. “Whereas the sport consists of a wide range of content material, it at present lacks the freshness and quantity anticipated of a sequel,” reads a abstract on the primary web page.
On the second slide, Krafton lists 5 main options Subnautica 2 was missing in its 2025 construct vs. its goal early entry launch specs set in 2023: Two fewer biomes, one much less leviathan, a lacking car, a eliminated sport mode, and “one narrative delayed, with about six hours of content material reduce.”
“In comparison with the initially deliberate EA launch specs, the present goal content material quantity has been decreased or adjusted throughout varied components resembling biomes, creatures, tools/development, and options,” reads a part of Krafton’s evaluation. “On account of a niche between the present state and the content material quantity assumed throughout the preliminary launch planning, it’s essential to reassess the discharge timeline and roadmap.”
“The doc that has been circulating on social media and reported by varied shops is certainly a part of an inside milestone evaluate carried out as a part of the Subnautica 2 venture,” Krafton wrote in its assertion to PC Gamer. “Milestone opinions are carried out commonly in collaboration with Krafton’s artistic studios throughout all initiatives. These opinions assist assess improvement progress, outline clear aims, and be certain that every venture aligns with Krafton’s requirements in each creativity and high quality.”
This proof from Subnautica 2’s improvement positively muddies the waters and lends some credence to Krafton’s narrative. It appears clear that the delay and expulsion of Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire was not only a option to get out of paying a promised $250 million bonus to the studio.
Within the (since-deleted) r/pcgaming publish calling for a boycott of Subnautica 2 over the firings, the poster and a few commenters surmised that Unknown Worlds’ ousted devs had been those who needed extra time on the sport and that Krafton was pushing to hit the unique launch window, when the alternative is clearly true. Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland wrote final week that “We all know that the sport is prepared for early entry launch and we all know you’re able to play it.”
On the similar time, Krafton inside improvement metrics usually are not a stone pill handed down by god: It is definitely doable that what Krafton perceived as a scarcity of progress was cheap rescoping by Unknown Worlds, and that this adjustment might have been made up for throughout the early entry interval. Absent extra phrase from the rank and file at Unknown Worlds or precise entry to the sport, we won’t know for certain.
Issues are getting ugly between Krafton and its ousted builders. The writer took the beautiful unprecedented step of singling Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire out, saying that “We really feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the belief positioned in them,” arguing that they “deserted the tasks entrusted to them,” and accusing Cleveland specifically of selecting to prioritize a “private movie venture” over Subnautica 2’s improvement. In the meantime, Cleveland has acknowledged that the three have filed a lawsuit in opposition to Krafton.
As an ideal lover of Disco Elysium who’s needed to report on that fallout for years now, all I can say to Subnautica followers is: First time?