Charlie Cleveland, the former CEO and co-founder of Unknown Worlds Entertainment, has spoken out following his departure from the studio behind Subnautica 2. The sudden leadership change at the developer came amidst broader industry turmoil, including Microsoft's layoffs and game cancellations. Krafton, the parent company of Unknown Worlds, made the controversial decision to replace the entire leadership team, creating uncertainty about the future of the highly anticipated survival sequel.

On July 2, Krafton announced the immediate replacement of Subnautica 2's leadership team, including co-founders Charlie Cleveland, Ted Gill, and Max McGuire. Industry veteran Steve Papoutsis, known for his work on Dead Space and The Callisto Protocol, was appointed as the new CEO. This abrupt transition surprised both fans and the ousted executives themselves, as revealed in Cleveland's recent statement.

In a detailed Reddit post on July 4 under his username Flayra, Cleveland expressed his shock at the sudden departure from the company he helped establish. He emphasized that the former leadership team believes Subnautica 2 is currently prepared for early access release. This stance appears to contradict Unknown Worlds' official statement urging patience as the new CEO settles in before making the game available to players.

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The disagreement raises questions about Krafton's vision for the game's development. While Unknown Worlds had previously targeted a 2025 early access release, Krafton's recent statements suggest the publisher believes more work is needed to meet fan expectations. This could potentially delay the game's early access launch, despite Cleveland's confidence in the current build.

Krafton has demonstrated a pattern of prioritizing quality over deadlines, recently delaying an InZOI update to ensure feature completeness. This approach suggests Subnautica 2 might face a longer development cycle before entering early access, regardless of the former leadership's assessment of the game's readiness.