Welp, it’s only been a day since we got wind that a judge has ordered Krafton to reinstate the former leads of Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds into the same positions, but here we are with the news that the deep sea exploration survival game now has an early access release month.
I say month and not date because that’s all it is right now, but it’s a solid month: May, only two of those aforementioned months away. This comes courtesy of IGN, which also featured a statement shared with the development team from studio head Steve Papoutsis. “Over the past nine months, you have worked incredibly hard to bring Subnautica 2 close to the finish line,” reads the statement. “That effort has resulted in a game we are truly proud of, one that each of us and our partners at Krafton unanimously determined is ready for Early Access release in May.”
Notably, it also made mention of the formerly ousted CEO: “We look forward to working with Ted Gill to support a smooth transition and work toward a successful launch. Our priority is getting this game into the hands of the community that has been eagerly waiting for it – and that means honoring the work you have already done to make that possible.”
In case you missed the whole debacle between Krafton and Unknown Worlds’ heads, last year the publisher replaced Gill, co-founder Charlie Cleveland, and technical director Max MacGuire with the executives behind Callisto Protocol. Subsequently, Krafton then decided to delay Subnautica 2, denying the devs a $250 million bonus, which was then followed up with those ex-leads suing the publisher, and then (I know) Unknown Worlds, the studio, filed a countersuit. Which leads us to now, with a Delaware court ruling Gill, Cleveland and MacGuire that they be reinstated, with authority over the game’s early access launch and access to Steam being restored too.
IGN did also share a statement from Krafton over the early access launch, seemingly approving of the early access launch: “We can confirm that the internal message shared with the Unknown Worlds team is accurate. The team has made meaningful progress following the milestone review approved earlier this month, and has been working toward an Early Access release in May.”
Krafton did, however, “respectfully disagree with this week’s court ruling,” noting they intend to “explore all legal avenues.” So, an almost guarantee that the drama over this whole thing will continue on longer than any of us has the patience for.
Anyway! How about those windows, eh? Might even be nice enough to wishlist the game on Steam, if that takes your fancy.
