Subnautica 2’s development changes have taken another dramatic twist, as former developers claim they’re launching legal action against publisher Krafton, which has now accused them of “abandoning” the project.
Last week, Unknown Worlds’s leadership had left the company, including CEO Ted Gill, co-founder and creative director Charlie Cleveland, and co-founder and technical director Max McGuire.
No reason was given for the departures, nor statements from the departing leadership, but Krafton claimed that the Unknown Worlds trio had left despite its efforts to keep them involved in the game’s development. Striking Distance [59 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/krafton/pubg-studios/striking-distance/”>Striking Distance, would take over as Unknown Worlds’ CEO, it said.
It was later confirmed that Krafton was delaying the release of Subnatica 2, which is the second-most-wished-for upcoming game on Bloomberg report alleged that Krafton had made the decision months before it was due to pay a $250 million bonus to the development team, which leadership had planned to share with the studio’s employees of around 100.
The sequel’s delay was against the wishes of the studio’s former leadership, it’s claimed, and by delaying the game into next year, the company is now “unlikely” to hit the targets which would trigger the payout.
Responding the Bloomberg’s reporting, Kraft issued another statement on Thursday claiming that the delay was “not influenced by any contractual or financial considerations”, but instead to improve the game, contradicting a social media post by Subnautica 2’s former director, claiming that it was “ready for early access release”.
Furthermore, Krafton’s new statement accused the former leadership team of abandoning their responsibilities in order to work on other projects, including a film, which it said led to delays for the game, and claimed that 90% of the $250 million payout was allocated to the three execs.
“Krafton believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule,” it said. “The current Early Access version also falls short in terms of content volume.We 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.”
On Friday, the drama deepened, as former creative director Cleveland claimed the former Unknown Worlds leadership had filed a lawsuit against Krafton.
“Suing a multi-billion dollar company in a painful, public and possibly protracted way was certainly not on my bucket list,” he wrote. “But this needs to be made right. Subnautica has been my life’s work and I would never willingly abandon it or the amazing team that has poured their hearts into it.”
In one final twist, a selection of confidential slides showing Subnautica 2’s development progress leaked online, suggesting that its content had been downsized due to missed deadlines. In an unprecedented move, Krafton published a press release soon after the leak, confirming the documents are indeed real.
“Given these circumstances, Krafton has determined that transparent communication is necessary and has chosen to confirm the authenticity of the document,” it said. “Krafton believes that minimizing speculation and ensuring accurate communication with players must take precedence.”
According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, the former employees’ lawsuit against Krafton is for breach of contract.
