Krafton accuses former executives of Subnautica 2 of negligence

The legal battle between Krafton and former executives from Unknown Worlds has heated up. In response to the lawsuit filed by co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and CEO Ted Gill, Krafton claimed that they were fired for just cause. According to the gaming giant, the executives "abandoned" their development responsibilities after the studio was acquired, putting the future of the acclaimed franchise at risk.

The core of the dispute lies in a financial agreement that could result in up to US$ 250 million in bonuses, in addition to the US$ 500 million already paid for the acquisition. The former executives, who accuse Krafton of delaying the game to avoid payment, received millions from the sale: Cleveland and McGuire each pocketed nearly US$ 200 million, and Gill received US$ 60 million.

In its lawsuit, Krafton claims that, after the deal, Cleveland and McGuire "quickly lost interest in developing Subnautica 2."

"Cleveland and McGuire abandoned their roles as game director and technical director of the studio to focus on their personal projects and stopped making games for Unknown Worlds altogether," says Krafton's formal response. "Cleveland left video games to pursue a career in filmmaking, a process he publicly documented on his website and social media. Meanwhile, McGuire began 'working on initiatives that fall outside the core development activities [of the company],' stating that his priority was 'to try something that felt personally meaningful to me'."

Krafton argues that the absence of the original creators caused delays in the Subnautica 2 project. The situation became critical in March 2024, when an internal assessment revealed that the game was far from ready for release. According to the lawsuit, CEO Changhan Kim feared that Subnautica 2 would become a case like Kerbal Space Program 2, causing "irreversible damage to the entire IP franchise."

To prevent the "key employees from permanently damaging the most valuable IP of Unknown Worlds," Krafton fired them, leading to the legal battle. The game, which was supposed to have early access in 2025, was postponed to 2026.

The legal dispute between Krafton and former executives of Unknown Worlds has raised serious questions about ethics in the industry. Do you think the risk of Subnautica 2 becoming a failure like Kerbal Space Program 2 justifies the dismissal of Unknown Worlds' founders?