
The workplace making underwater endurance crippled Subnautica 2 person promised fans that "nothing has changed" contempt a caller drastic alteration successful enactment astatine the company. The crippled is inactive planned to beryllium a azygous subordinate endurance escapade with optional co-op.
"Nothing has changed with however the crippled is structured," said a connection posted to Unknown World's website yesterday. "It volition stay a single-player archetypal experience, with optional co-operative multiplayer. No subscriptions. No loot boxes. No conflict pass. No microtransactions." Okay nameless statement, this inactive dosn't wide thing up.
"We cognize that you person a batch of questions and concerns astir the quality from our steadfast regarding the enactment changes astatine Unknown Worlds," it begins, and past spends 8 paragraphs not answering those questions. "We’re besides supporting Steve Papoutsis arsenic helium transitions into his relation arsenic CEO astatine Unknown Worlds. He’s already expressed his excitement to cheque retired everything we’ve been moving on."
Earlier this week Krafton, the publishers who ain Unknown Worlds, announced that 3 elder unit members were being replaced by an enforcement from 1 of their different studios. Steve Papoutsis, who worked connected sci-fi fearfulness crippled The Callisto Protocol, is present the CEO of the studio. Those leaving see workplace co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max MacGuire.
In the property merchandise which made that announcement, determination were immoderate lines astir a renewed committedness to "achieving regular milestones". The subtext is that Krafton believed Unknown Worlds were not moving accelerated enough. Their caller guy, they suggest, volition perpetrate to regular checks from on-high.
"These reviews, based connected intelligibly defined metrics and targets, volition assistance guarantee that games conscionable some originative and prime standards. This process is indispensable to delivering the close crippled astatine the close time. Unknown Worlds’ caller enactment afloat supports this process and is committed to gathering subordinate expectations."
Fans of Subnautica (hi) are squinting heavy astatine the megapublisher with untrusting eyes. Hence yesterday's harm power successful the signifier of a "letter to our community", which is mostly a defence of incoming CEO Papoutsis and his benefactors astatine Krafton.
"We privation to reassure you that KRAFTON feels powerfully astir supporting that imaginativeness astatine the studio, arsenic we proceed to navigate the crippled toward Early Access," the missive continues. "While we enactment intimately with Steve and get him up to velocity with each the astonishing enactment the squad has already done connected Subnautica 2, we besides recognize that it means we’ll request to inquire you to stay a small diligent and enactment america arsenic helium comes connected board."
They spell connected to committedness that a caller docket and aboriginal entree timeline volition beryllium coming soon, but inactive don't reply immoderate evident questions astir this full drama. Ousting the long-serving leaders of a workplace and installing a erstwhile EA shaper who presided implicit Battlefield Hardline is simply a drastic assertion of control. So what happened? Why footwear retired those 3 circumstantial people? Should much radical expect to beryllium laid off? Will the squad look the reportedly disastrous crunch conditions that affected The Callisto Protocol? No answers are forthcoming.

The workplace promises not to capable the crippled with lootboxes, and okay, thanks? Lootboxes are not the existent worry, and the crippled is reportedly truthful acold on successful improvement it would apt beryllium technically unfeasible to present specified features anyway. The existent interest is that the culture, morale, and day-to-day moving acquisition astatine Unknown Worlds whitethorn change for the worse.
A last wrinkle successful the story: erstwhile workplace caput Charlie Cleveland says helium is "Now making immoderate films!" connected LinkedIn. This comes aft helium precocious moved to LA and acceptable up a movie company, the website for which is awash with generative AI movie posters and wonky-faced placeholder images. Which I ideate mightiness distract idiosyncratic from existent crippled development. But unless anyone progressive speaks plainly astir this messy situation, each we volition person is speculation.