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Unknown Worlds Entertainment
April 23, 2026 at 05:49 PM
Rewrote to focus on Subnautica 2 development team; removed Natural Selection/Subnautica-1/Below-Zero studio history
Unknown Worlds Entertainment is the developer of Subnautica 2. The studio is based in San Francisco, California, operates as a fully remote, globally distributed team of approximately 171 employees, and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of KRAFTON since December 2021.
Steve Papoutsis is the CEO of Unknown Worlds, appointed on July 2, 2025 when KRAFTON replaced the studio's co-founders. He oversees the development and release of Subnautica 2. His prior roles include Executive Producer on Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 at EA's Visceral Games, and CEO of KRAFTON subsidiary Striking Distance Studios (The Callisto Protocol). See the full KRAFTON Acquisition and Controversy article for the context of the July 2025 leadership change and subsequent lawsuits.
The development team publicly fronting Subnautica 2 development across dev vlogs and community engagement.
Name | Role on Subnautica 2 | Background |
|---|---|---|
Anthony Gallegos | Design Lead | Hosts the Dev Vlog series. Former game journalist (IGN, 1UP, EGM, GameSpy). Prior design work at Gazillion Entertainment (Marvel Heroes), Zombie Studios, and Echtra Games (Torchlight III). Articulated the Subnautica 2 design pillars of no weapons and optional co-op. |
Seth Dickinson | Senior Narrative Designer | Responsible for Subnautica 2's story and world-building on Planet Zezura. Joined Unknown Worlds in May 2022. Previously wrote the Books of Sorrow and other lore for Bungie's Destiny franchise, and authored the Masquerade science fiction novel series. |
Cory Strader | Visual Development Lead | Directs the visual design pipeline for Subnautica 2. Featured prominently in Dev Vlog 3 (Collector Leviathan) and Dev Vlog 4 (Tadpole). Joined Unknown Worlds in 2008. Art-directed all prior Unknown Worlds releases. |
Ben Prunty | Composer | Composing the Subnautica 2 soundtrack. Also known for FTL: Faster Than Light (2012), Into the Breach (2018), and the two previous Subnautica soundtracks. |
Unknown Worlds has operated as a remote-first studio for most of its history, predating the industry-wide shift to remote work during COVID-19. The team is distributed globally across multiple time zones. The no-weapons philosophy that defines Subnautica 2's design is a continuation of a deliberate stance the studio has held since the original Subnautica.
KRAFTON acquired Unknown Worlds in late 2021 for $500 million upfront plus up to $250 million in performance-based earnout. Under KRAFTON, the studio developed Subnautica 2 in Unreal Engine 5. In July 2025, KRAFTON replaced the studio's co-founders (Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire) and CEO Ted Gill with Steve Papoutsis. The removed leadership filed a $250 million earnout lawsuit that went to trial in November 2025. On March 18, 2026, the court reinstated Ted Gill, and Unknown Worlds confirmed the Early Access release window as May 2026. See KRAFTON Acquisition and Controversy for the full account.
