UPDATE: Krafton claims Subnautica 2 2025 launch could have caused harm to the future of the series

Update:

Krafton has sent a statement to the editors at Gamepressure clarifying some of the details of this story. According to the statement, “…at the heart of every decision Krafton makes are the fans, who deserve the best possible experience… The company remains fully dedicated to working with the development team to deliver the best possible sequel.”

Regarding the lawsuit initiated by former Unknown Worlds leadership (which, for reference, consists of co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, as well as former CEO Ted Gill), the company’s shared statement is as follows:

• “By July of 2023, Cleveland and McGuire’s absence at Unknown Worlds had begun to impact the Subnautica 2’s development team. The Development Director at Unknown Worlds told Gill that ‘folks think… Max and Charlie are checked out as studio heads and are confused as to why.’” – Internal recognition that Charlie and Max had disengaged, creating confusion among the team. (Defendant’s Answer to Verified Complaint, Page 3)
• “Indeed, as late as March of 2025, only two months before the Key Employees claimed the game was ready for the first Early Access (‘EA’) release, the development lead for Subnautica 2 at Unknown Worlds noted that the first EA and second EA (planned for December 2025) would only be ‘about 12% of our intended 1.0 scope’ and joked ‘at that rate we would be in development for 30 years.’” – An internal acknowledgement that the content planned for Early Access was extremely limited. (Defendant’s Answer to Verified Complaint, Page 5)
• “[T]here’s no coming back to a job they didn’t have.” – “All of us knew I wasn’t gonna be running that team […] I wanted to hire someone bigger and better than me for the sequel.” – These quotes came after Krafton asked the Co-Founders to return and lead development – an offer they declined. (Defendant’s Answer to Verified Complaint, Page 6)
• “At every turn during development, the Key Employees were laser focused on avoiding ‘a timeline that doesn’t tank the earnout opportunity.” – “Ted [Gill] will concoct a scheme to get us that earnout.” – Internal communications make clear the development timeline was shaped around maximizing earnout payouts, not game quality. (Defendant’s Answer to Verified Complaint, Page 6)
• “The Key Employees […] were willing to gamble with the release of any game, even one that would damage the Company’s goodwill, in time for them to maximize their earnout at the expense of the Company.” – Krafton, in contrast, chose to protect the franchise’s long-term value and the trust of its players. (Defendant’s Answer to Verified Complaint, Page 7)

These excerpts are taken from a longer (just over 100 pages) response that can also be accessed through this link. The original story continues below.

Original Story:

It has been almost a month since the latest updates on the ongoing Subnautica 2 controversy between publisher Krafton and the former leadership of Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the development team behind Subnautica. To quickly catch up, this whole situation began in early July when Krafton unceremoniously fired the leadership team behind Subnautica and then delayed the early access launch to 2026. Rumors surfaced that this delay was so Krafton could avoid paying a $250 million bonus to the development team, and now the former leaders have filed a breach of contract complaint against Krafton. This latest update is the newest “back” in the back-and-forth between these two parties.

Krafton claims the 2025 launch of Subnautica 2 could have damaged the series’ reputation

The newest argument from Krafton amid the delay of Subnautica 2 is that had the game launched in the summer of 2025 as the Unknown Worlds team was planning, it would have caused “irreversible harm to the entire franchise,” from legal documents initially reported on by PC Gamer. There’s no way to know what state the game was in when Krafton made this decision, but apparently, the CEO was worried that it could go the way of Kerbal Space Program 2, a notoriously unsuccessful early access launch from early 2024.

According to this new statement, Krafton was doing what it thought it had to do to protect the series. When Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds, the company “…invested $500 million in the success of not only Subnautica 2, but also Subnautica 3, Subnautica 4, and any other future Subnautica franchise product.” Ironically, the actions taken might have protected Subnautica 2, but they’ve certainly harmed the public perception of Krafton in general. If Subnautica 2 still ends up disappointing in Early Access next year, that would be difficult to come back from.

Ultimately, we may never know exactly what happened between Krafton and Unknown Worlds. The last month has mostly just been each party claiming the other shirked responsibilities and made choices based on the potential bonus. As the legal battle gets underway, it could be years before we learn anything more. At the end of the day, I hope the best for the hardworking development team who is actually creating Subnautica 2. We’ll have to see where this all lands when it launches sometime in 2026.

Subnautica 2

2026

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• Overview

• lawsuits and litigation
• Bluehole / Krafton
• Unknown Worlds Entertainment
• Subnautica (brand)