With Subnautica 2 still expected to release at some point in the next six months, publishers Krafton have taken the bold step ofreplacing several senior members of staffwho were working on the game.
Subnauticaseriesdeveloper Unknown Worlds was hit with the surprising removal of co-founder Charlie Cleveland, CEO Ted Gill and Technical Director Max MaGuire, with them being replaced instead by former Striking Distance CEO Steve Papoutsis.
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Papoutsis, who is best known for his work as an executive producer on theDead Spaceseries, later became the Chief Development Officer on the notorious sci-fi flopThe Callisto Protocol. Now, as the new CEO of Unknown Worlds, he will presumably oversee the final stages of Subnautica 2’s development.
Such a major shake-up at the studio, this close to the release of theirmost highly anticipated games to date, likely doesn’t bode well for its launch. However, many fans were critical of the original directors' Subnautica: Below Zero for its lack of horror elements, with many praising the first game for its uniquely terrifying atmosphere.
A Very Late Change
In a rather ominous and unsympathetic press release, Krafton explained: “Papoutsis replaces the previous leadership team—Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire—effective immediately. WhileKRAFTON sought to keep the Unknown Worlds’ co-founders and original creators of theSubnauticaseries involved in the game’s development, the company wishes them well on their next endeavors.”
While Papoutsis certainly has the experience required for such a role, the sub-optimal timing of replacing three leaders within the studio shouldring some alarm bellsfor fans anticipating a 2025 release.
“There is nothing more important than the gamer experience. Given the anticipation aroundSubnautica 2, we owe our players nothing less than the best possible game, as soon as possible,” said Krafton CERO Kim Chang-han, “We are thrilled Steve is joining us in our shared commitment at KRAFTON and Unknown Worlds to deliverSubnautica 2as a more complete and satisfying entry in the series—one that truly lives up to player expectations.”
While being framed as putting “players first”, the original Subnautica game was developed by Unknown Worlds in 2018, without the help of Krafton. The changes have already begun to rile up from fans, who havetaken to Reddit to declare the game “cooked"already.
Whether the changes have affected other roles at the studio remains unclear, but the likelihood of Subnautica 2 being delayed to 2026 has certainly increased.
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Subnautica 2
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