New Unknown Worlds CEO Steve Papoutsis says the current calls to boycott Subnautica 2 over the studio’s current management upheaval are “very disappointing.”
Beforehand of The Callisto Protocol studio Putting Distance, Papoutsis stepped in as Unknown Worlds’ new CEO early this month after Krafton fired the studio’s former leaders and co-founders Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, allegedly for abandoning their posts.
The ousted leaders have since collectively filed a lawsuit claiming Krafton “flagrantly breached each the letter and the spirit of the guarantees on the very core of its settlement to buy Unknown Worlds” in an effort to withhold a $250 million payout stipulated in its $500 million buyout.
Whatever the true actuality of the scenario, which can by no means come into clear view, the backlash from the Subnautica neighborhood has dominated the information cycle for the higher a part of a month now. The brand new prime put up of all time on the Subnautica subreddit reads: “Don’t purchase Subnautica 2” and alleges the sport was delayed to 2026 “in order that devs would not obtain $250 million in bonuses.” I pointed this put up out to Papoutsis in our current dialog.
“Wow. Yeah. I imply, I assume my preliminary response is, that is very disappointing,” Papoutsis stated. “Making video games is a labor of affection, and folks put a number of effort into making these video games. All through the time I have been concerned in making video games, there’s there at all times been adjustments. There have at all times been those that have come and gone.
“All I can say on this explicit occasion is the those that began on the journey of constructing Subnautica 2, they’re right here. They care. They’re working diligently to ship an awesome expertise for gamers that’s an evolution of Subnautica, the franchise, not a significant departure from the issues that our gamers loved and beloved. The imaginative and prescient has been to remain true to what made the unique Subnautica so particular.”
In an announcement despatched to GamesRadar+ within the aftermath of my dialog with Papoutsis, Krafton alleged, “Charlie and Max have had minimal–to-no involvement within the growth of SN2. The SN2 growth workforce stays intact and is actively persevering with its work.”
Added Papoutsis, “(present Unknown Worlds management is) dedicated to the neighborhood, the spirit of open growth. We’re not trying to change the monetization mannequin or add microtransactions or any of these items that individuals have a tendency to seek out as a destructive. That is about delivering a significant participant expertise that respects the neighborhood and the legacy of Subnautica.”
