Krafton Claims Unknown Worlds Co-Founders Stole Blueprint for Subnautica 2

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Krafton has filed new claims against Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill, the co-founders of Unknown Worlds. These motions allege that Cleveland and McGuire stole hundreds of thousands of confidential documents from both Unknown Worlds and Krafton before being fired. Krafton further speculates that these documents included a blueprint for Subnautica 2.

The core allegations suggest that the founders planned to release Subnautica 2 independently, without Krafton’s involvement, and profit from it themselves. According to Krafton, Cleveland specifically stole hundreds of Sunaturica Maya (.ma) files, which are used in 3D animation modelling and contain proprietary data.

For context on the legal battle between the co-founders and their former parent company, here’s a brief timeline:

In a unique start to his ruling against President Donald Trump’s administration on September 30, U.S. District Court Judge William Young included a scanned handwritten note sent to his office. The note read: “Trump has pardons and tanks – what do you have?” At the top of Young’s opinion in AAUP v. Rubio, which ruled that Trump’s effort to deport foreign-born student protesters was unconstitutional.

October 8, 2025

July 2: The co-founders were fired, replaced by Steve Papoutsis. No concrete reason was given.
July 3: Unknown Worlds released a statement addressing concerns from fans about the sudden change in leadership.
July 4: Cleveland claimed Subnautica 2 was ready for early release, shocking everyone.
July 9: Bloomberg reported that Krafton delayed Subnautica 2 to avoid a $250 million bonus payment. This delay was confirmed by Krafton.
July 10: Krafton blamed the co-founders for abandoning their roles and cited lack of content as a reason for not releasing the game early.
July 17: The co-founders filed a lawsuit against Krafton, alleging that Krafton was sabotaging Subnautica 2 to avoid paying the bonus. The CEO allegedly admitted it would be “disastrous” and “embarrassing.” This contradicted previous claims from Krafton.
August 12: Krafton responded to the lawsuit, reiterating that the co-founders abandoned their roles and the game wasn’t ready for early release.
September 19: The court denied two of Krafton’s motions, and Krafton seemed to U-turn on one key argument regarding why the co-founders were fired.

Krafton is now seeking a forensic examination of the co-founders’ devices and a protective order against them. These actions highlight the ongoing dispute between the co-founders and Krafton over the theft of confidential documents and the future of Subnautica 2.

These allegations are part of an increasingly complex legal battle, with both sides making strong claims about each other’s misconduct. The outcome remains uncertain as the case moves forward.

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