KRAFTON confirms authenticity of leaked Subnautica 2 milestone review

Drama continues to embroil the recently delayed Subnautica 2 following the firing of developer Unknown Worlds’ leadership team, which publisher KRAFTON said "abandoned" its duties and has subsequently announced plans to file a lawsuit against the South Korean company.

Following this opening act, an internal milestone review of Subnautica 2’s development process was leaked on the internet, showing an alarming lack of progress that would appear to support KRAFTON’s argument for delaying the game’s Early Access launch. Although fans were unsure about the document’s veracity at first, the publisher has since confirmed that it’s authentic in a statement to the press.

“The document that has been circulating on social media and reported by various outlets is indeed part of an internal milestone review conducted as part of the Subnautica 2 project,” the company said. “KRAFTON has confirmed that portions of it have been leaked and are now being widely shared across online platforms and within the fan community. KRAFTON recognizes the confusion this has caused.”

The statement continued: “Given these circumstances, KRAFTON has determined that transparent communication is necessary and has chosen to confirm the authenticity of the document. KRAFTON believes that minimizing speculation and ensuring accurate communication with players must take precedence. Milestone reviews are conducted regularly in collaboration with KRAFTON’s creative studios across all projects. These reviews help assess development progress, define clear objectives, and ensure that each project aligns with KRAFTON’s standards in both creativity and quality.”

The leaked presentation slide documents how Subnautica 2’s “content volume has been scaled down compared to the initial EA [Early Access] spec target, making it necessary to reassess the feasibility of the planned launch.”

Comparing the targets for 2023 Q2 to those for 2025 Q2, the game’s scope was reduced by two biomes (down to just two), a leviathan type, several creature types, character customization, a vehicle, gear types, a custom game mode, and one narrative chapter worth about six hours of content. Originally, the game was supposed to launch with two narrative chapters, but it seems like there hasn’t been any progress on this at all over the last two years, hence the reduction to one story chapter. Key features such as automation haven’t been implemented yet either.

Based on this document alone, KRAFTON’s decision to delay the game seems to be founded on solid reasoning.

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