Krafton has replaced Subnautica 2's three-person leadership team with industry veteran Steve Papoutsis as the new CEO of Unknown Worlds. The move comes as a bit of a shock for many fans, as there hadn't been much, if any, news about tension or development issues at Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Details are still murky, but it's clear that things are changing for Subnautica 2, at least behind the scenes.
Unknown Worlds has been behind the series since the beginning, with Krafton acquiring the Subnautica studio in 2021, after the first game and its spin-off, Subnautica: Below Zero, were already out. Less than a year later, fans spotted a job listing revealing that Unknown Worlds was working on a sequel, and since then, development has proceeded relatively quietly. That is, until today, when Krafton announced the change in leadership.
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Posts 2Krafton announced that Steve Papoutsis, the CEO of Striking Distance Studios, would take over as CEO of Unknown Worlds "effective immediately" on July 2. Papoutsis replaces Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, who co-founded the studio and created the Subnautica series, so the shift is a dramatic one on top of being unexpected. Krafton said it wanted to keep the original team onboard, but it's now parting ways with them, and it's unclear why. The publisher has only said that the move is to "prioritize development momentum" and deliver a better fan experience. Devs had already said that Subnautica 2 will be the franchise's most ambitious project to date, which seems in line with Krafton's goal, so where ideas might've clashed isn't evident at the moment.
Krafton Has Replaced Subnautica 2's Entire Leadership Team
CloseThis is not the first shake-up to take place at a Krafton-owned studio this year. In February, Krafton laid off several Striking Distance employees, which, notably, is the company that Papoutsis previously led before his new posting at Unknown Worlds. Those layoffs were larger than the Subnautica 2 team's leadership change, but they reflect the difficulties many studios have faced in the current market. Given that the Subnautica 2 shift affected the game's leaders rather than its developers, this case may be more an issue of direction than profitability, but Krafton's relatively vague announcement leaves room for interpretation.
While any news of development change-ups may make fans worry, Papoutsis does have a respectable resume. Before helming Striking Distance, he worked at EA on the Dead Space series. At least one survey claims that Dead Space 2 is one of the scariest horror games of all time, so Papoutsis' experience with it could lend itself well to Subnautica 2.
