Judge Rules Dismissal of Former Unknown World Manager as Unlawful

The Korean publisher Krafton has suffered a defeat in a Delaware court. In a ruling in the case of Fortis Advisors v. Krafton, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in favour of the former Unreal Worlds managers Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, who were represented by Fortis. 

In a published statement of reasons running to over 90 pages, Will found that there were no valid grounds for the dismissal of Cleveland, McGuire and Gill. Following the ruling, Gill must be reinstated as CEO and will be granted full operational authority over the company. The ruling does not provide for the reinstatement of Cleveland and McGuire, as they had already moved to less critical roles. However, the ruling notes in this context that Krafton was not only sufficiently informed about Cleveland and McGuire’s change of position but had also accepted it.

As regards the allegation of data theft, which Krafton apparently raised during the proceedings, Will concludes that Gill, Cleveland and McGuire undertook the downloads to protect the studio’s work ahead of Krafton’s takeover attempt.  “They kept the data confidential and promptly returned it,” writes Will.

For the managers and founders of Unknown Worlds, the ruling is a first partial victory, but by no means the end of the legal battle. According to US media reports, a Krafton spokesperson stated on request that the company reserves the right to take legal action against the ruling. Furthermore, the proceedings themselves are not yet concluded. As the original contract also provides for performance-related payout payments to Gill, Cleveland and McGuire, a second phase of the proceedings will examine whether Krafton’s unlawful conduct gives rise to claims for damages. At the same time, Gill, as the former and current CEO of Unknown Worlds, now has the opportunity to implement the contractual milestones, such as a corresponding early access phase. The ruling grants Gill an extension of the timeline, at least by the length of time during which he was unlawfully removed as CEO.

Krafton had surprisingly appointed a new CEO for Unknown Worlds in July 2025 and, in doing so, announced the departure of Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. Although the press release contained formal words of thanks, the rift between Krafton and the studio’s founders was clear. This quickly escalated.

In a message to the community published following the postponement of the Early Access launch, Krafton levelled serious allegations against the trio. Gill, Cleveland and McGuire responded with a post on Reddit, in which they also announced the legal action that has now led to the – as yet provisional – ruling.