There’s an allegedly leaked document from Krafton and/or Unknown Worlds Entertainment that sheds light about what’s happened behind the scenes of Subnautica 2.
The original Subnautica helped popularize ocean exploration as a gameplay element and design. We don’t know if we can call ocean exploration as a genre; comparing Subnautica to Abzu and Endless Ocean reveals that very different kinds of games can have this gameplay style. Still, players discovered that this is a fun, compelling gameplay experience that can be fit to different kinds of games.
Subnautica 2 was going to continue the original game’s idea of open world survival in a world that is as dangerous as it is beautiful. They also promised a lot of expansive features, such as four player co-op, new vehicles and environments, a DNA gameplay mechanic that allows you to gain abilities, and more. The jump to the 9th generation presumably also meant higher expectations in graphics and performance. Apparently, Unknown Worlds was struggling to get there.
User studiocavy shared screenshots of an internal presentation about Subnautica 2 to the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit. It isn’t clear if this was prepared by Unknown Worlds to provide to Krafton, or if this is from Krafton’s report to shareholders. If this turns out to be the latter, it may go public soon, possibly in their next financial meeting.
The presentation is named Subnautica 2 Milestone Review in May’25: Final Recommendation, and on its first slide it says this:
The current version of SN2 (Subnautica 2) is expected to deliver a certain level of performance based on its existing fandom, but it is deemed to lack the level of polish and market impact required to drive IP growth and expansion.
To develop SN2 into KRAFTON’s global franchise IP, it is recommended to enhance the content volume and level of polish before launching so that it can appeal to a broader market from the EA (Early Access) release stage.
…A content volume increase of over 30 % compared to v1.0 is expected, along with launch-level gameplay polish. The build should allow players to experience the core loop with a high level of completeness.
There are also finer details about the milestones and how much they missed. To sum what is missing:
- They finished 2 out of 6 regions
- They needed to create 8 creatures
- They needed to make 5 biomods, mining and automation systems, and a farming system
- They needed to produce approximately 16 hours of core gameplay, approximately 30 hours of sandbox gameplay, and online account integration
- They needed to finish 3 out of the total 10 chapters
The second leaked slide is even more damning, as it says this:
The game’s content volume has been scaled down compared to the initial EA spec target, making it necessary to reassess the feasibility of the planned launch.
Compared to the originally planned EA launch specifications, the current target content volume has been reduced or adjusted across various elements such as biomes, creatures, equipment/progression, and features. Due to a gap between the current state and the content volume assumed during the initial launch planning, it is necessary to reassess the release timeline and roadmap.
We’ll also share a summary on what points they noted had to be reduced:
- Compared to Q2 2023, two biomes removed
- One type of Leviathan removed, fewer creatures/biomods, and character customization feature excluded
- Compared to Q2 2023, the number of tools/equipment decreased and the additional vehicle (Trident) excluded
- Custom game mode removed
- One narrative delayed, with about 6 hours of content cut
The information in this allegedly leaked presentation supports Krafton’s claims that Unknown Worlds’ management have “abandoned their responsibilities” in making Subnautica 2. Of course, we don’t know right now if this presentation is authentic, and if it is, if it’s an accurate description of the situation. But we cannot disregard the information here outright, as Krafton will have to prove it’s correct, and Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, Unknown Worlds Entertainments former management, will have to prove it’s false.
