There is more trouble bubbling underneath the surface in the saga of Subnautica 2 developers Unknown Worlds and parent company Krafton. Following reports that the upheaval at the leadership level could have been motivated by money, the community has not taken this development lightly.
Fans, especially within the Subnautica subreddit, have condemned the corporate manoeuvring. In response, community-led boycott campaigns have begun gaining traction. Players are not only pledging to avoid purchasing Subnautica 2, but are also calling on others to remove the title from their Steam Wishlists. The goal is to strip the game of its standing as one of the most wishlisted titles on the platform, delivering a message directly to the publisher.
The boycott movement aims to hold Krafton accountable for what many see as exploitative business practices. Supporters of the campaign are demanding that KRAFTON honour the bonus it allegedly promised to the Unknown Worlds team, while also protesting the company’s overall treatment of the developers behind both PUBG and life sim inZOI.
Krafton Respond to Subnautica Community
In light of the escalating backlash, Krafton has issued an official response via a pop-up message on its website. The statement justifies the leadership shake-up at Unknown Worlds, claiming that the dismissed executives were underperforming. First, the company noted that the original Early Access release window for Subnautica 2 in early 2024 was missed due to poor management.
Second, Krafton accused Subnautica creator Charlie Cleveland of lacking focus on the sequel. Following the commercial failure of their other title, Moonbreaker, Charlie was reportedly more involved in a personal film project than the development of Subnautica 2. According to Krafton, this lack of direction led to significant delays and confusion within the studio.
However, Krafton concluded its statement by reaffirming its intention to fulfil the promised bonus payments to the Subnautica 2 development team. Despite that, the community-driven boycott remains in full swing. While the publisher’s transparency may have raised some doubts about the leadership at Unknown Worlds, the three ousted executives have yet to make any public statements in response to this latest development.
