Publisher Krafton is suing former heads of Unknown Worlds — Charlie Cleveland, Adam McQuiggan, and Ted Gill—accusing them of blackmail, breach of fiduciary duty, and unauthorized downloading of tens of thousands of confidential files.
At the core of the conflict is a $250 million bonus tied to early access revenue from Subnautica 2. Former insiders allege Krafton delayed the game’s release to evade paying the bonus. In response, the publisher claims they were pressed to release the game prematurely—compromising quality and player trust.
Furthermore, Krafton says the ex-leads downloaded tens of thousands of internal files and communications—the largest extract activity recorded by these individuals since 2022. When confronted, they reportedly refused to return the data or grant access to the devices holding the information. There are also allegations they threatened to delete files during ongoing discussions.
In a 74-page complaint, Krafton also contends that Cleveland and McQuiggan effectively abandoned the project, leaving Gill without the leadership needed to steer Subnautica 2 through development.
