Steam Page Shenanigans or Deeper Waters? Subnautica 2 Devs Say Krafton 'Drama' Was Overblown
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Developers for Subnautica 2 clarified that Krafton's temporary disappearance from the game's Steam page was an 'overblown' misunderstanding and their co-publishing partnership is still active. However, this minor incident is set against a backdrop of significant, ongoing legal disputes between Unknown Worlds' founders and Krafton.
Well, folks, gather 'round, because it looks like we had a good old digital kerfuffle over on the Subnautica 2 Steam page recently. For a hot minute there, it seemed like publisher Krafton had done a Houdini act, vanishing into thin air from the game's storefront. Naturally, the gaming rumour mill started spinning faster than a turbo-charged leviathan.
But before we all pulled out our 'The End Is Nigh' placards, the folks at Unknown Worlds – specifically creative media producer Scott MacDonald and design lead Anthony Gallegos – have popped up to say, 'Hold your seahorses, mate!' Speaking to Eurogamer, they've reassured us that Krafton isn't doing the ghost walk after all. Gallegos, bless his cotton socks, admitted he wasn't exactly 'Steam page management central' but clarified, "we're co-publishing the game [with Krafton], so they're not not the publisher anymore." Try saying that five times fast after a pint, eh?
MacDonald chimed in, echoing the sentiment: "As you can tell with Krafton people in this call, we're working with them for all promotional material, it's a co-publishing thing. It's just one of those things on Steam I think that just happened. It may have blown up a little bigger than it was meant to, but you know, Krafton are still very much helping us with the launch of the game." Even a Krafton PR rep apparently gave a nod and a wink of agreement.
Now, here's where my wizardly senses start tingling and I have to ask: Was it *really* just a simple 'oopsie' on the Steam backend? Because, fair dinkum, this isn't exactly occurring in a vacuum, is it? This Steam page kerfuffle is apparently just a ripple in a much larger, and far less 'accidental,' ongoing public and legal spat between Unknown Worlds' *founders* and Krafton. We're talking about judges ordering removed senior leadership members to be reinstated, and allegations from lawyers that a release date was 'intentionally leaked' by Krafton. Blimey, it's like a corporate soap opera playing out in the deep blue sea!
So, while the developers are keen to stress that the co-publishing on *Subnautica 2* itself is still all systems go, it’s worth remembering there’s a whole kraken of legal drama swirling beneath the surface. It just goes to show, sometimes what looks like a simple digital glitch is actually just the tip of a very complex, icy, and possibly litigious, iceberg. Here's hoping *Subnautica 2* navigates these choppy waters gracefully and gives us the aquatic adventure we're all buzzing for.
*(Original source of this deep dive into publishing perplexities: Eurogamer, by Connor Makar.)*
Tags: Subnautica 2, Krafton, Game Development, Publishing, Industry News
Original article: Eurogamer