Subnautica 2 is highly anticipated, if wishlists on Steam are anything to go by, but behind the scenes a legal tug-of-war is threatening to overshadow the release.
In short, the original founders of the game studio Unknown Worlds – Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire – claim that the publisher, Krafton (who owns Unknown Worlds) purposefully delayed the game so that it would have to avoid paying $250 million in bonuses to the developers.
In response, they threatened to release the game themselves and Krafton fired them for stealing company files. Now, as a legal dispute ensues, Krafton looks to be changing their story.
Subnautica 2 Controversy
Court papers verified by GamesIndustry.biz showed that Krafton filed a forensic inspection request, as well as a preservation order, both of which were denied by the court.
This means that the two parties are expected to meet to try and progress.
The original creatives claim that Krafton changed their story in the middle of these proceedings, from having fired them due to their theft of documents, to firing them because of their “supposed intention to proceed with a premature release of Subnautica 2.”
To those following the legal battle surrounding Disco Elysium’s mobile port, this long-drawn out battle between the financial heads and the creatives will sound all too familiar.
The repeated occurrence shows the kinds of risks that smaller developers have to make when looking to fund their game.
What Does This Mean for Unknown Worlds?
The aforementioned founders aren’t the only developers, of course, but some fans are seeing this as enough of a reason to boycott the game, even when it’s claimed that their absence has had no impact on development.
These original developers apparently have plans to set up their own studio and work on a new project.
Subnautica 2 Release Date
Where does this leave the game itself?
Subnautica 2 is currently set to be released in early access at some point in 2026, despite Cleveland claiming in a Reddit post earlier in the year that the game was already ready to be released.
Recently, Unknown Worlds released a dev blog which provided some insight into how they’re using Unreal Engine 5 in the development of the game to improve on the original, as well as a glimpse at a giant squid, though it’s the first that the studio has said since the firing of those original creatives.
