Ousted Subnautica studio co-founder says it was a 'shock' to get fired, Subnautica 2 is 'ready' for early access release, and no longer working 'at the company I started stings'

Last week, Krafton gutted the leadership level of Subnautica studio Unknown Worlds, and in a notably robust press release said that studio needed "renewed energy and leadership" to deliver the long-awaited Subnautica 2. The fan reaction was generally speaking one of total dismay, so much so that Unknown Worlds released an open letter over the weekend asking for patience, and trying to reassure fans that key team members were still in place.

Now, Unknown Worlds co-founder and designer/director of Subnautica, Charlie Cleveland, has taken it upon himself to share with the game's fans what happened behind-the-scenes: and reassure them about the state of Subnautica 2.

Cleveland's post is titled "What is a Wave but a Thousand Drops?" It begins by recalling the halcyon days of youth, when he and his high school friends in Burlington, Vermont, would spend the summers trying and failing to make games: until 1996, "when just two of us worked through the fall and got our first game playable: an underwater (!) Star Control II clone called Aquarium Fighter [...] I instantly became hooked. Hooked on making games. Hooked on making not-fun-things (but with potential), fun."

Cleveland reflects on how much the industry has changed over nearly three decades, and the "brutal" realities of making money in the current era. He says he started Unknown Worlds "without realizing it" by creating the Half-Life mod Natural Selection.

Way before it was more common, the 'studio' operated a remote model and the unusual business practice of "ask[ing] the community to send me $20 bills in the mail so I could keep working on the game, and you did. $18k was a tough salary to live off of, but I made it work and loved every moment of it. Like a design hook, but I was hooked on design. So hooked that I spent 10 years making the sequel."

Cleveland says none of this would've happened without co-founder Max McGuire, and Natural Selection 2 "made just enough money to get Subnautica into a stripped-down early access, which allowed us to find the fun… the community helped guide us forward until we found something we all loved. Something we loved to make and something that millions loved to play. There's no way it would've been as successful if we had waited until v1.0 before releasing it to the public."

But it wasn't all plain sailing, with Cleveland saying "one of our games failed because we thought we knew better" than the process they'd followed with Subnautica. I think he's referring to 2022's Moonbreaker here, which he directed, and "fewer people played that game than even that humble Half-Life mod [...] it really wounded me and I needed time to heal. Sometimes it feels like I’ll never get over that one."

Then we get to Subnautica 2. "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," says Cleveland. "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.

"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."

As noted above, Krafton's press release announcing the departures was unusually forthright, and it certainly didn't seem like any love was lost. Cleveland doesn't outright say it, but the news being "quite a shock" certainly suggests that the trio were pushed rather than jumping: and it's especially weird that he regards Subnautica 2 as "ready" for release (it was scheduled for a 2025 release, though it's unclear if it will release this year).

You'd think the guy who created and directed Subnautica would have a good sense of where the sequel was. I've asked Krafton for comment on Cleveland's statement, and on Subnautica 2's release date situation, and will update with any response.

"I want you to know that whatever happens to the founders, to the team and to the game, our priority is, and has always been, to make the best damned game we can for the best community in the world," ends Cleveland. "With your Gorge plushies and your hand-drawn fish fan-art, and yes, your hard-earned dollars, you've supported us in every way, in every season, cold and warm, since Half-Life modding was even a thing.

"And I also want you to know that this is not where the story ends."