In a recent earnings call, Krafton defended its decision to postpone the early access release of Subnautica 2, asserting that this delay represents a commitment to quality rather than mismanagement of their milestone process.

“I fully understand that from the outside, you may think…that could make you think that maybe within Krafton, our milestone process is being mismanaged.”
Translation: “I understand that from an external perspective, you might believe there’s a mismanagement of our milestone process.”

The leadership of developer Unknown Worlds faced significant changes within July, impacting their project. Many argue that the game’s readiness for market release is contentious, with former leaders arguing it is indeed prepared while Krafton insists it requires further refinement before launch.

Bae emphasized the importance of ensuring the game meets high expectations before being released, stating:

“So as long as we market it and we release it into the market, people would say that a certain level of sales from this title would be guaranteed. But what we are seeking to do is, we want to make sure that we satisfy the highest level of satisfaction that the gamers have…”
Translation: “We want to ensure that we meet the expectations of our gamers before launching the game.”

The situation at Krafton and Unknown Worlds illustrates the ongoing complexities within game development, where balancing market pressures against quality and readiness remains an ever-present challenge.