The latest update in the Krafton versus Unknown Worlds founders saga that circles Subnautica 2 comes from two filings that Krafton has publicized. The core of these motions are allegations that Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, two of the three co-founders who are all currently in a legal battle with their former parent company, “stole hundreds of thousands of Unknown Worlds and Krafton confidential documents” prior to being fired.
Krafton then goes a step further to speculate that the theft was to further a plan to release Subnautica 2 on their own, without Krafton, and take the earnings from that to the bank, in so many words. Krafton also claims that what Cleveland specifically stole was “hundreds of Sunaturica Maya (.ma) files, which are used in 3D animation modelling and contain proprietary embedded data, providing, effectively, a blueprint for a game.”
If you’ve not been following what’s happened in what is an increasingly long timeline between the co-founders of Unknown Worlds, and the original creatives behind Subnautica and their former parent company, Krafton, then there’s a bullet-point list at the bottom of this article to catch you up.
For now, we’ll stick to what’s new. One of the two filings is an affidavit from Kevin Negangard, a forensics technology expert who, per the affidavit, specializes in “the preservation and investigation of electronic evidence from digital devices, the interrogation of complex data sets, and leading large-scale electronic discovery projects,” and is where the key allegations of theft come from.
The other is a motion from Krafton to compel the court to allow for a forensic examination of Cleveland, McGuire, and Ted Gill’s devices to further determine what was allegedly stolen, and asking the court to issue a protective order against Gill, Cleveland, and McGuire’s side from obtaining all the documents it has asked for. Essentially, Krafton is asking to block the co-founders’ requests for information from Krafton, while also asking to get more information from the co-founders to further its investigation and claims of theft.
While furthering its claims that the co-founders stole confidential files from Krafton and Unknown Worlds, Krafton also furthered its allegations regarding the co-founders having “abandoned” their roles, and puts that as at the center of why they were fired, alongside their alleged theft. “The Key Employees were fired for Cause because they covertly abandoned their posts, deceived Krafton about it, and stole condifential information on their way out the door,” the combined protective order and compel motion reads.
“When Krafton discovered their ruse, Krafton asked them to do the jobs they promised they would and finish developing Subnautica 2. Krafton even offered to extend the earnout period if the Key Employees would come back to work. The Key Employees refused, threatened to self-publish Subnautica 2, and – anticipating their termination – stole hundreds of thousands of Unknown Worlds and Krafton confidential documents before they were fired, presumably in furtherance of their plan to unilaterally self-publish Subnautica 2 and capitalize on the earnout.”
Besides the filings, there’s also a new statement from Krafton, which reads, “Krafton’s latest filings continue to highlight the former executives’ misconduct. Despite offering to extend the former executives’ earnout period if they returned to their positions, the former leaders refused to return to work, threatened to prematurely self-publish Subnautica 2, and stole hundreds of thousands of Unknown Worlds and Krafton confidential documents on their way out the door.”
“Krafton will continue to present the evidence showing how the former executives violated their obligations and misused company resources, as the legal proceedings move forward. As Krafton has continued to make clear, at the heart of every decision Krafton makes are the fans, who deserve the best possible experience. Through this process, Krafton remains focused on what matters: delivering the best possible game to Subnautica’s fans.”
These filings follow a recent update from the legal battle, where two requests made by Krafton were denied by the court, and where Krafton seemed to make a major U-turn on one of its key arguments around why the co-founders were fired.
Ultimately, these allegations from Krafton, and from the co-founders around Krafton’s own alleged shady tactics, are just that, allegations. We likely won’t know the full truth of the matter even after it’s all sorted out in the courts.
But it’s clear that both sides are not backing down in their language and in their attempts to make their narrative the one that’s widely known, even when some of the allegations, like how the co-founders allege Krafton’s chief executive officer said the company would be “embarrassed” by having to pay Unknown Worlds its $250 million bonus, or Krafton’s much-repeated claim that the co-founders flat-out refused to do their jobs, feel unbelievable at face value.
If you need a recap on this whole saga, here’s a timeline with everything save for today’s news to catch you up: