The Subnautica 2 drama has, perhaps, been one of the most high-profile cases in a long time. After publisher Krafton confirmed that it was moving towards an AI-first development approach, we saw the surprise replacement of key members of the Unknown Worlds staff team, including co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, as well as president Ted Gill. Krafton claimed that "the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them," claiming that Cleveland was distracted by a "personal film project" and that "the absence of core leadership resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule."