Subnautica 2has gone from one of this year’s most highly-anticipated titles, to one of this year’s biggest tragedies. That’s due to thecontroversial firing of Unknown Worlds co-founders Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, who were all beloved and valued people among the Subnautica faithful.
While we don’t know the exact reasons why the trio were removed from Unknown Worlds by Krafton,fans have begun to direct their ire towards Subnautica 2, calling for boycotts despite theleadership changes having no effect on development. It’s all become a little bit nasty, but during all of this, Charlie Cleveland has spoken out about his time at Unknown Worlds (thanks PC Gamer), and how he’s feeling after his departure.
In a Reddit post on the Subnautica subreddit last week, Cleveland (who goes by the username Flayra) talks about his experience setting up Unknown Worlds, how he got his start in video game development, and how disappointed he was that Moonbreaker ended up failing. It’s a truly heartfelt post, in which Cleveland claims that being fired from Unknown Worlds was “quite a shock”, and that it “stings” knowing he no longer works there.
Subnautica 2 Is “Ready For Early Access”, According To Ousted Co-Creator
Interestingly, Cleveland goes on to mention a couple of things about the future, the first being that Subnautica is apparently “ready for early access release”.We know that the game is expected to drop in early access at some point in 2025, but that a release date still hasn’t been given. From Cleveland’s comments, it sounds as though one should be coming soon.
Secondly, Cleveland ends his post by saying that “this is not where the story ends”, suggesting that he has plans in motion for another project. It could be possible that Cleveland plans on setting up a new studio with Ted Gill and Max McGuire, and judging from the reactions of Subnautica fans, it sounds as though they’d have a lot of support if they did. We’ll have to see what the future holds, and whether Cleveland and the gang become an independent studio once again.
