UNKNOWN WORLDS

Swimming for the surface in Subnautica is a moment of pure tension. As your oxygen runs out, the screen darkens around you and eventually goes black; however, if you’ve timed it just right, you can cheat death and break the surface, gulping down fresh air as your senses rush back to you. Looking back over the 20-year history of the game’s developer, the parallels are striking. Unknown Worlds has come close to drowning, financially speaking, on multiple occasions – but it’s managed to resurface time and time again, in the process solidifying its reputation as a crafter of immersive, player-driven experiences.

Unknown Worlds CEO was working at developer Stainless Steel Studios in Boston when he witnessed the birth of the modding movement, led by , in 2000. Having worked on (but not completed) games with his friends at university, Cleveland had always known he wanted to make something of his own. “Back then, you couldn’t license an engine without $300,000 or some ridiculous amount of money,” he says – but the accessibility of modding changed all that. “It was just: ‘Of course, this is my