The trial that will decide the way forward for hit online game franchise Subnautica has ended with a variety of critical allegations made by Korean mega corp Krafton towards the ousted former bosses of developer Unknown Worlds.
Unknown Worlds co-founders Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill sued Krafton, claiming the corporate fired the trio to keep away from paying an allegedly owed $250 million bonus, regardless of, the founders say, Subnautica 2 being prepared for an early entry launch this yr. They now wish to be reinstated at Unknown Worlds.
Krafton claims the co-founders had already downed instruments lengthy earlier than they had been fired, whereas additionally insisting Subnautica 2 was not prepared for launch this yr. Krafton additionally alleges the executives stole data regarding Subnautica whereas nonetheless on the firm in anticipation of subsequent authorized motion.
Former CEO of Unknown Worlds, Charlie Cleveland, appeared in a Delaware courtroom on Wednesday, November 19 to reply questions from Krafton’s authorized group as a part of a cross examination.
In the course of the trial, a doc titled ‘Litigation Assist’ was proven to the courtroom. In it are notes written by Cleveland regarding recommendation given to him by Owen Mahoney, who was CEO and President of South Korean online game firm Nexon, for a decade (2014–2024), as a part of preparation for the authorized motion with Krafton.
The notes, dated June 28, 2025, include a variety of phrases Krafton alleged had been “racist views towards Korea and Korean folks.” Throughout cross examination, Cleveland insisted the notes had been a transcription of recommendation issued by Mahoney solely, and never phrases he himself mentioned. IGN has requested Mahoney for remark.
“So these should not my phrases,” he mentioned. “These are all transcriptions from what we had been suggested by — suggested to do. Like these are phrases popping out of two different folks’s mouths not mine.”
And: “Once more each single phrase so far as I do know on this doc is one thing that Owen mentioned, not what I mentioned.”
And: “… I am writing down what Owen informed us. So it has nothing to do with my opinions in any respect.”
Key excerpts from the ‘Litigation Assist’ doc, reviewed by IGN, embody:
“Delaware? Oh, they’re f***ed. You don’t even want a Korean lawyer.”
“We simply want an inventory of issues from them. We’re enjoying the home’s cash and we’re the house group. We don’t want to fret about these guys or our fame. Historical past will keep in mind that Krafton was dangerous. Even the Reddit crowd hates them due to Darkish & Darker.”
“Korea — they’re the Joe Pesci of nations. Charming till they’re unimaginable nasty. It goes to 11 rapidly. No filter. It may be emotionally draining coping with this, particularly as male westerners. Males is perhaps extra problem-solvers and convey much less emotion — they’re organic causes for this.”
“It’s small and nasty. Yearly some large movie star commits suicide due to intercourse, medication or one thing, hounded by press.”
“Delaware will say this can be a bunch of Sadistic Korean assholes (like Samsung — John Pleasance). They’ve forged as villains and it’s performed.”
Krafton accused Cleveland of writing within the notes that Delaware courts could possibly be disadvantageous to Krafton, “suggesting an absence of judicial equity towards international corporations.” Krafton additionally alleged that Cleveland “referenced racist views towards Korea and Korean folks, speculating on organic causes for Korean males to be ‘much less emotional.’”
Krafton mentioned Cleveland’s notes “devolve into name-calling and prejudicial views, suggesting biases that might stop Krafton from receiving honest therapy in a Delaware courtroom.”
Krafton additionally alleged that within the notes, Cleveland “outlines a plan to pursue $1 billion by litigation — a determine far exceeding the $250 million earnout initially agreed upon.”
“Don’t simply go for the earn-out,” the notes learn, “go for $1B in emotional misery and injury. That is the mindset we have to have. Nuclear.”
Once more, throughout the trial Cleveland responded to the doc to say: “These are all transcriptions from what we had been suggested by — suggested to do. Like these are phrases popping out of two different folks’s mouths not mine.”
“Remarkably, the notes made public seem like a set of actual time messages, targeted on and prepping litigation even earlier than his employment at UW was terminated,” Krafton mentioned in an announcement issued to IGN.
“In additional exchanges that increase questions on Cleveland’s character, he repeated racist views towards Koreans and repeatedly mentioned attempting to get as a lot cash as he may from Krafton.
“Additional, in sworn testimony on Wednesday, Cleveland reiterated that he was not considering creating video games for Unknown Worlds, thought of himself semi-retired, wasn’t truly working arduous on the Subnautica film, appeared to delete his personal ChatGPT information and flirted with beginning a brand new firm. The testimony got here from cross examination the place he was typically requested to answer his prior statements.”
On this level, right here’s the related change between Krafton’s legal professional, John Del Monaco, and Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland, throughout cross-examination on the trial:
Q. On the right-hand facet you wrote, “Fast reminder: verify your organization ChatGPT account to ensure there’s nothing incriminating there.” Proper?
A. Sure.
Q. So along with indiscriminately downloading all the firm’s recordsdata that you could possibly get your palms on, you had been additionally checking to see what incriminating data is perhaps on the market; proper?
A. Like I mentioned, I wished to ensure we knew how they had been going to assault us.
Q. You had been getting forward of the sport is your testimony?
A. We wished to look and see what was up there, sure.
Later within the day, Krafton referred to as on Aaryn Flynn, present CEO of Inflexion Video games, maker of Nightingale, and former Normal Supervisor at Mass Impact and Dragon Age developer BioWare, as an trade professional witness. Flynn testified that the actions of the previous Unknown Worlds bosses weren’t in step with trade norms, and they didn’t meet the expectations the trade would count on of individuals of their roles.
With the trial now at an finish, January 9, 2026 was set as a post-trial argument date. Following that, the supply of the judgment is predicted. All of the whereas, the 2 events might settle out of courtroom.
“We’re grateful to the courtroom for its thorough dedication to understanding the information, and we’re assured we have now demonstrated our dedication to delivering the perfect sport doable to our followers,” Krafton mentioned. “We made clear to the courtroom that we had been compelled to make a change when the previous leaders confirmed little curiosity within the growth of Subnautica 2, which has all the time been our high precedence.
“Now, this trial comes all the way down to plaintiffs asking to be restored to jobs they weren’t doing, mentioned they’d no real interest in doing, and had beforehand declined requests that they arrive again and do these jobs. We sit up for receiving a call. We’ve got made unimaginable progress previously few months, and we’re excited to share with all of the Subnautica followers.”
Amid the high-profile authorized spat, fan concern over the destiny of Subnautica 2 stays, with many inside the sport’s neighborhood apprehensive that it’ll not meet their expectations as a result of authorized drama surrounding it — regardless of when it’s launched.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
