It’s not a done deal for the lawsuit between publisher Krafton and the three former lead devs at Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, but it is a couple of positive steps in favor of the latter, as GamesIndustry reports that court order requests filed by Krafton have been denied as of last week.
At the heart of Krafton’s requests is an allegation by the publisher that former CEO Ted Gill, co-founder and creative director Charlie Cleveland, and co-founder and CTO Max McGuire absconded with “tens of thousands of ‘company files’ and emails” in the lead up to their terminations. Krafton was seeking a protective order for preservation of these files as well as a forensic inspection.
The three former execs, meanwhile, alleged that Krafton was changing its story about their firing mid-litigation, arguing that instead of claiming the men were fired for trying to rush out an unfinished game, Krafton fired them owing to their alleged retrieval of the associated files – something that the plaintiffs claim was only discovered after the facts of the case were learned.
“Krafton’s disorganized retreat raises more questions than answers,” reads part of the associated filing from the former execs. “To say Krafton’s new theory is a Hail Mary would be an understatement – both because the downloads were not wrongful and because Krafton claims not to have learned of them until after it had fired the Founders. The downloads cannot have been the actual motivation for termination.”
Ultimately the court sided with the plaintiffs in these matters, tossing out the inspection request without prejudice and denying the preservation order request. Both sides are now expected to meet and confer.
“KRAFTON believes the discovery requests made by the former executives are overly broad and extend beyond what is relevant to the core issues,” KRAFTON said in its statement to press. “We have complied, and will continue to comply, with all of the court’s rulings on discovery. We remain focused on developing Subnautica 2 and delivering the best possible experience to players.”
source: GamesIndustry. Updated after publication to add Krafton’s statement.