Former Unknown Worlds creative director says departure was “quite a shock”

“After all these years, to find that I’m no longer able to work at the company I started stings,” says Charlie Cleveland

Image credit: Unknown Worlds

Former Unknown Worlds creative director and co-founder Charlie Cleveland has described his exit last week as “quite a shock”.

Sharing a post on the Subnautica subreddit this weekend, Cleveland said Subnautica 2 is “ready for early access release”.

He thought the release schedule of the game “was going to be [his and the team’s] decision to make” but “that decision is in Krafton’s hands”.

“After all these years, to find that I’m no longer able to work at the company I started stings.”

He added: “Whatever happens to the founders, to the team and to the game, our priority is and has always been to make the best damned game we can for the best community in the world.”

Last Wednesday (July 2), Krafton announced changes to the developer’s leadership team, appointing Steve Papoutis as CEO following the departure of CEO Ted Gill and CTO and co-founder Max McGuire.

The publisher provided no reason for these changes, but said it had “sought to keep the Unknown Worlds co-founders and original creators of the Subnautica series” involved with development of Subnautica 2.

Cleveland and McGuire co-founded Unknown Worlds in 2001. Krafton acquired the studio in 2021 for an undisclosed sum.