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Subnautica 2 Publisher Krafton Blames Leads for Delay in Statement, Saying They 'Abandoned Responsibilities'
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<blockquote data-quote="Admin" data-source="post: 67862" data-attributes="member: 1"><p><img src="https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2025/07/10/ss-824940ca39301e3b3675faa7d1b0f144a23f253c-1920x1080-1752137235290.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p>The ongoing drama around Subnautica 2's delay and its team's upheaval continues, with the company Krafton issuing a lengthy public statement today accusing the studio's leaders of having "abandoned responsibilities" on the game, alleging they focused on personal projects rather than fulfilling their contracted roles and suggesting the game's delay is their fault.</p><p></p><p>In the published statement sent to press, which we've reprinted in full below, Krafton claims it made "multiple requests" to Unknown Worlds founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire to resume their responsibilities as game director and technical director respectively, but claims they both declined. "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," the statement reads. "KRAFTON believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule."</p><p></p><p></p><p>Krafton also makes reference to a reported $250 million bonus that was promised to the development team, which would have paid out just a few months from now if it hit revenue targets. Per Krafton, 90% of this bonus was intended to go directly to Cleveland, McGuire, and former CEO Ted Gill prior to their removal from the project.</p><p></p><p>The statement concludes with Krafton promising "fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees...and we reaffirm our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised."</p><p></p><p>The full content of the statement is as follows:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Subnautica 2's <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/subnautica-2-developers-entire-leadership-team-replaced-in-shock-move-krafton-said-will-bring-renewed-energy-and-momentum" target="_blank">entire leadership team was replaced last week</a> with former Striking Distance CEO Steve Papoutsis by owner Krafton, and the game was delayed to 2026. The replacement came as a "shock" to Cleveland, who <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/ousted-subnautica-2-developer-breaks-silence-after-shock-removal-to-find-that-im-no-longer-able-to-work-at-the-company-i-started-stings" target="_blank">claimed in a Reddit post shortly after his removal</a> that Subnautica 2 was "ready for early release", that the decision was "in Krafton's hands," and saying the decision to remove him and the other leaders "stings."</p><p></p><p>This was followed by a <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/more-drama-in-the-murky-world-of-subnautica-2-as-official-delay-confirmation-comes-hot-on-the-heels-of-damaging-report-into-now-unlikely-250m-bonus" target="_blank">Bloomberg report</a> that alleged this decision was made just before the $250 million bonus was scheduled to be paid out to the team, with staff expecting bonuses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to seven figures that they were now concerned they would not see. In a statement to IGN at the time, Krafton claimed the delay was a response to playtester feedback, and had nothing to do with "any contractual or financial considerations." In response to the removal of the three members of leadership and concerns about the denial of promised bonuses to staff, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/subnautica/comments/1lvyc7f/do_not_buy_subnautica_2/" target="_blank">fans have begun organizing boycotts of the game on social media</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to <a href="mailto:rvalentine@ign.com">rvalentine@ign.com</a>.</em></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/subnautica-2-publisher-krafton-blames-leads-for-delay-in-statement-saying-they-abandoned-responsibilities" target="_blank">Continue reading...</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Admin, post: 67862, member: 1"] [IMG]https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2025/07/10/ss-824940ca39301e3b3675faa7d1b0f144a23f253c-1920x1080-1752137235290.jpg[/IMG] The ongoing drama around Subnautica 2's delay and its team's upheaval continues, with the company Krafton issuing a lengthy public statement today accusing the studio's leaders of having "abandoned responsibilities" on the game, alleging they focused on personal projects rather than fulfilling their contracted roles and suggesting the game's delay is their fault. In the published statement sent to press, which we've reprinted in full below, Krafton claims it made "multiple requests" to Unknown Worlds founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire to resume their responsibilities as game director and technical director respectively, but claims they both declined. "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," the statement reads. "KRAFTON believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule." Krafton also makes reference to a reported $250 million bonus that was promised to the development team, which would have paid out just a few months from now if it hit revenue targets. Per Krafton, 90% of this bonus was intended to go directly to Cleveland, McGuire, and former CEO Ted Gill prior to their removal from the project. The statement concludes with Krafton promising "fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees...and we reaffirm our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised." The full content of the statement is as follows: Subnautica 2's [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/subnautica-2-developers-entire-leadership-team-replaced-in-shock-move-krafton-said-will-bring-renewed-energy-and-momentum']entire leadership team was replaced last week[/URL] with former Striking Distance CEO Steve Papoutsis by owner Krafton, and the game was delayed to 2026. The replacement came as a "shock" to Cleveland, who [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/ousted-subnautica-2-developer-breaks-silence-after-shock-removal-to-find-that-im-no-longer-able-to-work-at-the-company-i-started-stings']claimed in a Reddit post shortly after his removal[/URL] that Subnautica 2 was "ready for early release", that the decision was "in Krafton's hands," and saying the decision to remove him and the other leaders "stings." This was followed by a [URL='https://www.ign.com/articles/more-drama-in-the-murky-world-of-subnautica-2-as-official-delay-confirmation-comes-hot-on-the-heels-of-damaging-report-into-now-unlikely-250m-bonus']Bloomberg report[/URL] that alleged this decision was made just before the $250 million bonus was scheduled to be paid out to the team, with staff expecting bonuses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to seven figures that they were now concerned they would not see. In a statement to IGN at the time, Krafton claimed the delay was a response to playtester feedback, and had nothing to do with "any contractual or financial considerations." In response to the removal of the three members of leadership and concerns about the denial of promised bonuses to staff, [URL='https://www.reddit.com/r/subnautica/comments/1lvyc7f/do_not_buy_subnautica_2/']fans have begun organizing boycotts of the game on social media[/URL]. [I]Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email]rvalentine@ign.com[/email].[/I] [url="https://www.ign.com/articles/subnautica-2-publisher-krafton-blames-leads-for-delay-in-statement-saying-they-abandoned-responsibilities"]Continue reading...[/url] [/QUOTE]
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Subnautica 2 Publisher Krafton Blames Leads for Delay in Statement, Saying They 'Abandoned Responsibilities'
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