Krafton delays Subnautica 2 to 2026 as rumors circulate that the delay is to avoid paying a $250 million bonus for dev team

Today, Bloomberg has reported that Krafton will be delaying Subnautica 2 until 2026. This comes just a week after Subnautica developers Unknown Worlds Entertainment went through a drastic leadership change. Krafton reportedly fired the former founders and CEO, replacing them with Steve Papoutsis, the previous CEO of Striking Distance, the studio that developed The Callisto Protocol. According to employees who spoke to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, the Subnautica studio was expecting to receive a substantial financial bonus for reaching revenue targets this year, which would have been shared among the entire staff. But with this delay, that no longer seems attainable.

Subnautica 2 delayed to 2026, rumors suggest it was to avoid paying a $250 million bonus

Subnautica 2 is primed for success. Not only was the original Subnautica a breakout hit for the indie studio, selling over six million copies since its release in 2018, but the sequel is the second most wishlisted game on Steam, second only behind the incomparable Hollow Knight: Silksong. No matter when the game plans to release, millions of fans are likely to pay attention. Before the studio’s leadership change, the plan was to launch Subnautica 2 in Early Access on Steam later this year. But that is no longer the case.

Unknown Worlds was acquired by the South Korean publisher Krafton in 2021 and announced the sequel to Subnautica shortly after. Bloomberg reportedly reviewed the purchase agreement and confirmed that Unknown Worlds was planned to receive a $250 million bonus if the studio “hit certain revenue targets by the end of 2025.” Of course, had Subnautica 2 been released, even in Early Access, before the end of this year, that revenue target might have been hit.

It's hard not to see this as a move by Krafton to save $250 million. When asked about the situation at a company town hall this week, the new CEO, Steve Papoutsis, reportedly explained that Subnautica 2 was not ready to be released this year and that the delay was to add more content to the game. This strikes as odd, considering that is usually what an early access period would be for. When explicitly asked about the potential bonus, Papoutsis said “that the specifics of the acquisition were ‘beyond my current understanding at the moment,’” via Bloomberg.

To say the least, this is a concerning combo of events. Fans on social media have not taken the news well, criticizing Papoutsis for not understanding the details of his new role and blaming Krafton for shady practices. One user on Bluesky even theorized that the bonus was used as motivation for the developers to crunch on development, only to have it taken away near the finish line.

This line of thinking may also be shepherded by one of Unknown Worlds’ founders, who shared a lengthy statement on social media last week. A key detail, though, was when Cleveland wrote, “…the events of this week have been quite a shock. We know that the game is ready for early access release… and while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton’s hands.” There appears to be some miscommunication or misunderstanding between the team at Unknown Worlds and Krafton, making this delay seem increasingly confusing.

For now, we’ll have to wait to see what happens next. As this is a breaking news story, Krafton and Unknown Worlds have yet to comment. Subnautica 2 is now planned to launch in Early Access on Steam sometime in 2026. Perhaps once we get our hands on the game, we’ll receive some hints on whether it was ready for release this year or if the delay was truly justified. But we might never know the truth of the situation.

Subnautica 2

2026

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