Krafton „refused to support” summer promotions of Subnautica 2 according to former leadership

Today, in an update to the ongoing Subnautic 2 controversy, now turned lawsuit, Bloomberg has shared further details about the deteriorating relationship between publisher Krafton and Subnautica developers Unknown Worlds former leadership team. The studio’s two co-founders and CEO were fired by Krafton in early July and replaced with the former CEO of Striking Distance, the studio that developed The Callisto Protocol. The former leadership team suggests that this firing and the delay of Subnautica 2 to 2026 happened so that Krafton could avoid paying out a $250 bonus to the studio and are now suing for breach of contract. The entire 58-page complaint can be read on Aftermath.

New details allege that Krafton leadership has said they wanted to avoid the payout to Subnautica 2 studio

In a new report from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, the lawsuit brought to Krafton by Unknown Worlds former leadership team alleges that Krafton purposely sabotaged development of Subnautica 2 to avoid paying the $250 million bonus to the development team. This bonus was part of the contract agreed upon when Krafton purchased the studio in 2021. In order to earn the bonus, Unknown Worlds had revenue targets to reach by the end of 2025, which they certainly couldn’t achieve if the game was delayed. In a statement released last week, Krafton alleged that the leadership team “abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them,” via a statement on their website.

In the lawsuit filed by former Unknown Worlds leadership and reviewed by Bloomberg, the leadership team alleges that “Krafton began pushing for Unknown Worlds to delay Subnautica 2” leading up to the ousting. The former leadership team also claims that during this time, Krafton “refused to support the game’s imminent summer release and that Unknown Worlds missed out on ‘highly valuable’ promotional opportunities because Krafton didn’t respond to emails.” This seems counter to Krafton’s previous accusations that it was the leadership team that was abandoning responsibilities. Co-founder Ted Gill says “he was told by one of Krafton’s top executives that ‘pulling these resources was a permissible way for Krafton to avoid supporting the earnout…’” This situation is becoming more and more of a back and forth of who did what and who said what. Ultimately, it will come down to who can prove it.

Bloomberg has also reported that Krafton has extended the bonus period for Unknown Worlds, meaning that the delay won’t impact many of the employees opportunity to earn a bonus. Though, notably, this will only be roughly 10% of the original $250 million. Krafton claims that former leadership was “holding 90% of [the] earnout for themselves,” though leadership has also said that they would have distributed the payout among staff. Krafton only allowing for employees to receive that 10% feels hypocritical though, if they are also calling out former leadership for only leaving 10% for their employees. Overall, this is a messy situation, and it’s hard to tell what exactly happened. Hopefully, we will eventually know the full story, though that’s never a guarantee in situations like this.

More details are sure to emerge over time. Many fans are likely still looking forward to Subnautica 2, which is looking to be a high-quality co-op survival crafting experience, now planned for Early Access launch in 2026. We will have to keep an eye on this potential lawsuit and watch for any further responses from both Krafton and the former Unknown Worlds leadership. Hopefully, the hard-working developers at Unknown Worlds get the bonuses they deserve.

Subnautica 2

2026

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• Overview

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