Axed Subnautica 2 head says game is "ready" for early access launch

When you're seemingly just a few months away from launching a game in early access, the sudden removal of three studio executives isn't exactly what you want to see. But that's precisely what happened to Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds last week. Now, one of the ousted trio - Unknown Worlds co-founder and game director on the original Subnautica, Charlie Cleveland - has spoken out, saying that Subnautica 2 was "ready" for an early access release and that his removal from the company "stings."

The Subnautica community was stunned last week when, out of the blue, Unknown Worlds' parent company, Krafton, announced it had replaced Cleveland, fellow co-founder Max McGuire, and president Ted Gill with a new CEO. Steve Papoutsis, who was most recently the CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance, is now at the helm and will be overseeing Subnautica 2. The departure of these three key figures left the community confused and angry, especially given the impact Cleveland and McGuire had on making one of our picks for the best survival games ever. Krafton also didn't give an explicit reason why it decided to change the studio's leadership so close to the early access Subnautica 2 release date, which is set to arrive before the end of 2025.

In response to fans' concerns, Unknown Worlds swiftly released a statement in an attempt to reassure them the project was still in safe hands. "[The development team] includes veterans of the Subnautica series, dating back to the earliest days of the original Subnautica," it said, before also confirming that the decision wasn't made to inject any additional monetization or live service elements into Subnautica 2.

Now, Cleveland has penned a blog post that touches on Krafton's decision. While it's mostly a reflection of his career and the 24-year history of Unknown Worlds, he admits that his removal from the company was a "shock" and that Subnautica 2 was on-track for its targeted early access release.

"Many of the folks that started the journey with us nearly 20 years ago have worked hard on Subnautica 2, and they're joined by some incredible new talent who were drawn to the studio by their love of the games and their passion for the way we've made them," he writes. "We know (and love) that the expectations for this sequel are high. But the team has poured their hearts into the game and their dedication really shows. We helped pioneer early access and our community seems to love it just as much as we do. It's the best way to develop a game like this.

"So you can see why for Max, Ted, myself, the Unknown Worlds team, and for our community, the events of this week have been quite a shock. We know that the game is ready for early access release and we know you're ready to play it. And while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton's hands. And after all these years, to find that I'm no longer able to work at the company I started stings."

Cleveland concludes his post by saying that "this is not where the story ends," but doesn't allude to what his next steps may be.

The excitement for Subnautica 2 can't be understated. The only upcoming PC game with more wishlists on Steam is Hollow Knight Silksong, and the sequel adds official co-op support, so it's on course to be one of the biggest launches of this year even if it is just in early access.

Cleveland claims the game is ready, and there's been no official alteration to its 2025 window, but a change in leadership like this does make me wonder if it'll get pushed back. Unknown Worlds also sounded confident in its statement last week that the vision of the game isn't changing under Papoutsis' watch, so perhaps it will dodge a delay. Regardless, it's a bizarre and unexpected turn of events for the studio and one of the most anticipated new games.

Until we get another update on Subnautica 2, dive into one of the best building games to get your base designing skills up to scratch. Also take a look at our best gaming monitor guide if you're considering an upgrade to your setup.

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