Krafton, Inc. plans to acquire Unknown Worlds, the developers of Subnautica and Natural Selection.
KRAFTON, Inc., known for the worldwide hit title PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and the upcoming AAA title The Callisto Protocol, today announced its decision to acquire Unknown Worlds, the makers of Subnautica.
This latest decision continues KRAFTON’s expansion strategy. It aims to invest in high-profile talent who want to develop, show innovation and create new experiences. Unknown Worlds will be KRAFTON’s sixth independent studio, joining a group of experienced developers such as PUBG Studios, Striking Distance Studios, Bluehole Studio, RisingWings and Dreamotion.
Unknown Worlds will bring a wealth of experience to the development of community-driven gaming experiences at KRAFTON. Founded in 2001 by Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, the studio developed the popular half-life mod Natural Selection, which later received a commercial sequel.
Maintaining its community-centric roots, the studio released the critically acclaimed and commercially successful PC and console games Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero in Early Access ahead of their official launch. Unknown Worlds has shown that it creates engaging experiences that resonate with players around the world. The latest acquisition plan will help KRAFTON expand its IP and add to the company’s portfolio of groundbreaking games.
“Unknown Worlds are incredibly skilled and passionate developers with unparalleled creative talent and a proven track record of building player-driven worlds,” said CH Kim, CEO of KRAFTON, Inc. “KRAFTON will go out of their way to support them. Not only do they enrich our development capabilities, but we also share the goal of creating unique experiences for a global audience. ”
“It was immediately clear how similar Unknown Worlds and KRAFTON Inc. are in the way we think about games and game development. Subnautica and PUBG both started small and have grown successfully through constant iteration and feedback, ”said Charlie Cleveland, CEO of Unknown Worlds. “We want to bring new games to the international stage – and with KRAFTON we have come a big step closer to that. We are very much looking forward to our future together. ”
Unknown Worlds will continue to function as an independent game development studio wholly owned by KRAFTON, Inc., distributed worldwide and working with talent from around the world. The structure and management of Unknown Worlds will be maintained to maintain the unique creative identity. In addition to other updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero, Unknown Worlds is currently working on a new genre-defining game that is expected to go into Early Access in 2022.
Aream & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Unknown Worlds throughout the negotiation, along with Fenwick & West acting as legal advisor. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kim & Chang acted as legal counsel for KRAFTON.