OG Subnautica director is suing parent company Krafton after leadership changes: "Subnautica has been my life's work and I would never willingly abandon it"

If you thought the Subnautica 2 drama was already ugly, I'm afraid it might get a whole lot worse as the developer's former leadership have now filed a lawsuit against parent company Krafton.

Original Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland, who was abruptly replaced earlier this month, took to social media to address the messy situation. "We've now filed a lawsuit against Krafton: the details should eventually become (at least mostly) public – you all deserve the full story," he writes on Twitter.

"Suing a multi-billion dollar company in a painful, public and possibly protracted way was certainly not on my bucket list. But this needs to be made right. Subnautica has been my life's work and I would never willingly abandon it or the amazing team that has poured their hearts into it."

Quick catchup: developer Unknown Worlds' leadership was suddenly swapped out by parent company Krafton for nebulous reasons, including Cleveland, CEO Ted Gill and co-founder Max McGuire. Cleveland then called the removal a "shock" and claimed the survival sequel was ready for early access.

Things got a whole lot more complicated this week, however, when Krafton delayed the game to 2026 to buff out the early access version's content. A Bloomberg report then claimed a whopping $250 million bonus was on the line if the developer hit certain revenue thresholds by 2025, putting a big question mark on Subnautica 2's delay.

All the speculation finally culminated in a no holds barred statement from Krafton, which claimed the studio's leadership were absent during development and "abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them." The PUBG owner even accused Cleveland of focusing on a "personal film project" instead of the sequel. And for what it's worth, the publisher also said 90% of the $250 million bonus was supposed to go to the studio's leadership.

Responding last night, Cleveland said that claims he, McGuire, and Gill wanted to keep the payout "all for ourselves" were "totally untrue." It's not totally clear what Krafton is being sued for, but I wouldn't be surprised if the company's bullish statement had something to do with it.

"I'm in this industry because I love it, not for riches," Cleveland continues. "Historically we've always shared our profits with the team and did the same when we sold the studio. You can be damned sure we'll continue with the earnout/bonus as well. They deserve it for all their incredible work trying to get this great game into your hands."

Cleveland also says that "none of this is what we wanted. But we truly appreciate the amazing support we've gotten from everyone. It means a lot to us, especially now. As I wrote last week, we know in our souls that the game is ready for Early Access – that's just how we roll. And we'd like nothing more than for you to play it (game devs live for this). But it’s not currently under our control."

Krafton says the Subnautica 2 delay had nothing to do with money and was already being discussed before last week's leadership shakeup, and oh, here's a 90-second gameplay teaser