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[IbizaPocholo]

KRAFTON, INC. TO ACQUIRE UNKNOWN WORLDS, THE DEVELOPERS BEHIND SUBNAUTICA AND NATURAL SELECTION

KRAFTON affirms its commitment to driving the future of content development by adding industry visionaries to its collective of independent video game development studios

www.krafton.com

KRAFTON, Inc., known for its global hit title PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and the upcoming AAA title, The Callisto Protocol, today announced its decision to acquire the creators of Subnautica, Unknown Worlds. This latest decision continues KRAFTON's expansion strategy of securing and investing in top-tier talent that aspires to evolve, innovate, and create new experiences. Unknown Worlds becomes KRAFTON's sixth independent studio, joining a stable of other seasoned developers that include PUBG Studios, Striking Distance Studios, Bluehole Studio, RisingWings and Dreamotion.

Unknown Worlds will come to KRAFTON with a vast amount of experience steeped in a rich history of creating community-driven gameplay experiences. Founded by Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire in 2001, the studio created the highly popular Half-Life mod, Natural Selection, which went on to see a commercial sequel. Continuing with its community-focused roots, the studio went on to release critical and commercial PC and console successes, Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero, in early access, before official launches. With Unknown Worlds' proven ability to create immersive experiences that resonate with gamers around the world, the latest acquisition plan will help KRAFTON expand its IP and diversify the company's portfolio of groundbreaking games.

"Unknown Worlds are incredibly skilled and passionate developers with an unparalleled gift for creativity and a proven track record of building successful player-driven worlds." said CH Kim, CEO of KRAFTON, Inc. "KRAFTON will spare no effort in helping them. Not only do they enhance our development capabilities, but we share a goal of creating unique experiences for global audiences."

"It was immediately apparent how closely Unknown Worlds and KRAFTON are aligned in the way we think about games and game development," said Charlie Cleveland, CEO of Unknown Worlds. "Subnautica and PUBG both started humbly and evolved successfully through constant iteration and feedback. We want to bring new games to the world stage – and with KRAFTON, we're a big step closer. We're truly looking forward to our future together."

Unknown Worlds will function as an independent game development studio wholly owned by KRAFTON and will continue to operate globally with talent seated throughout the world. Unknown Worlds' structure and leadership will remain in place to retain its unique creative identity. In addition to ongoing updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero, Unknown Worlds is currently working on a new genre-defining game, which is slated to launch into early access in 2022.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

KRAFTON ANNOUNCES GAMING INDUSTRY VETERAN STEVE PAPOUTSIS AS NEW CEO OF UNKNOWN WORLDS | KRAFTON

krafton.com

Los creadores de Subnautica dejan el equipo de desarrollo

Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire cofundadores de Unknown Worlds y creadores de Subnautica, dejan la compañía

www.elotrolado.net

Unknown Worlds Entertainment – the team behind the underwater exploration and adventure game Subnautica – has just experienced a major shake-up after Krafton announced that its leadership team has departed. They'll be replaced by Steve Papoutsis, an industry veteran known for leading Visceral Games (Dead Space) and serving as CEO of Striking Distance Studios (The Callisto Protocol), another Krafton-owned studio

When we say Unknown Worlds has lost its entire leadership, we mean that Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill have left the studio for undisclosed reasons. All three departures are significant—but the most notable is Charlie Cleveland. A co‑founder of Unknown Worlds, he served as director and designer of Subnautica. Max McGuire, the other co‑founder, acted as programmer for Subnautica and served as CTO. Ted Gill was the studio president and was responsible for managing Cleveland and McGuire, allowing them to focus more on development

In its statement, Krafton—who acquired Unknown Worlds in 2021 for an undisclosed sum—did not detail the reasons behind the departures of Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire. The company merely stated it had made efforts to retain the co‑founders and creators of the Subnautica series, and said Papoutsis will take over "effective immediately." It highlighted Papoutsis's experience in franchise planning, development, and production, saying he will bring "renewed energy and fresh momentum" to Unknown Worlds

The statement did not clearly explain the reasons for this leadership change, but the tone suggests that Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill may have disagreed with the development schedule imposed by Krafton—or may have lacked clarity on how to deliver the project successfully. "Nothing is more important than the player experience," said CH Kim, CEO of Krafton. "Given the anticipation surrounding Subnautica 2, we owe our players the best possible game as soon as possible"

CH Kim added that Papoutsis and Krafton share the goal of making Subnautica 2 "the most complete entry" in the franchise and one that meets player expectations. Krafton noted that its oversight includes evaluating the progress of its studios, and that these reviews help ensure games meet creative and quality standards. "This process is essential to deliver the right game at the right time," Krafton stated. "Unknown Worlds's new leadership supports this process and is committed to meeting player expectations"

If all goes as planned, Subnautica 2 will be available this year via early access. Anthony Gallegos, the game's design director, remains at Unknown Worlds

 

[RoadHazard]

Is this good or bad for Subnautica 2? That's perhaps my most anticipated game.

Edit: Only read the first post (which is apparently from 4 years ago), that second post does not sound good... God damnit, they're gonna ruin it aren't they?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Is this good or bad for Subnautica 2? That's perhaps my most anticipated game.

Who knows at this point

All I can add is that Subnautica 1 was brilliant, one of my favourite games. I personally didn't like the way the '2nd'ish' game went in terms of, I don't know.. a weird over talkative dei route? It wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't the Subnautica I knew

And now hearing the actual 2nd game is some weird Co-Op hybrid thing is very disheartening.. from the off it removes the claustrophobic loneliness of the 1st which was the making of it

So who knows. I have a feeling the 1st was lightning in a bottle we might not get back.

 

[Westcliff]

Very bad, because Krafton probably wants to turn the game into a GAAS with microtransactions, and the founders were not in favour of this.

 

[StereoVsn]

Who knows at this point

All I can add is that Subnautica 1 was brilliant, one of my favourite games. I personally didn't like the way the '2nd'ish' game went in terms of, I don't know.. a weird over talkative dei route? It wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't the Subnautica I knew

And now hearing the actual 2nd game is some weird Co-Op hybrid thing is very disheartening.. from the off it removes the claustrophobic loneliness of the 1st which was the making of it

So who knows. I have a feeling the 1st was lightning in a bottle we might not get back.

Yep, Subnautica 1 was amazing and I loved that game. It was such an interesting take on usual survival setup.

The follow up I didn't even get what with the bad reviews and impressions.

I had high hopes for the 2nd game, but now have 0 expectations and probably won't even bother. This situation just sucks and I have no idea what the hell the studio was thinking and why they went in the direction they did.

 

[RoadHazard]

Who knows at this point

All I can add is that Subnautica 1 was brilliant, one of my favourite games. I personally didn't like the way the '2nd'ish' game went in terms of, I don't know.. a weird over talkative dei route? It wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't the Subnautica I knew

And now hearing the actual 2nd game is some weird Co-Op hybrid thing is very disheartening.. from the off it removes the claustrophobic loneliness of the 1st which was the making of it

So who knows. I have a feeling the 1st was lightning in a bottle we might not get back.

Agreed, BZ didn't scratch the same itch at all. It was worse in just about every way, and just didn't feel the same.

 

[Buggy Loop]

The fanbase is in panic mode with Krafton removing the original founders with the Krafton Callisto protocol guy



I mean you just killed the soul of the game or it was this close to release that you just hijacked someone's hard work. Really bad situation for the future of this game I think.

Hijacked by an horror flop manager to be more precise. Subnautica 1 + subzero devs have more success and know-how than this fucking Callisto Protocol hack.

 

[Generic]

I miss Natural Selection...