„Litigation may be looming” Subnautica 2 delay controversy continues as new details emerge

If you haven’t heard, a serious controversy has arisen surrounding the delay of Subnautica 2, particularly on the part of publisher Krafton. According to reports from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the development team behind the Subnautica series, was set to receive a $250 million bonus if it hit specific revenue goals by the end of 2025, which would likely have been within reach if Subnautica 2 had launched in early access. Krafton also recently fired the developer’s leadership team, adding to the pile of details that suggest this is a move by Krafton to avoid paying the large bonus. Since that story broke yesterday, a few more details have come to light.

Subnautica 2 delay controversy is far from over, new details emerge, and litigation looms

Schreier shared a pair of posts on Bluesky outlining today’s new details. According to documentation shared with Schreier, 10% of that $250 million bonus (about $25 million) “was due to be paid to about 40 Unknown Worlds staff (each receiving different amounts, mostly six figures). Leadership also said they’d give parts to their employees.” I can only imagine how heartbreaking it would be to work hard towards this promised goal, only to have it stripped away so close to the finish line.

Of course, this bonus was tied to revenue targets. We still don’t have details about what that target was, so it’s hard to say how attainable it was. But if the second-most-wishlisted game on Steam launching in Early Access couldn’t reach that target, then few other games could. In his second post on Bluesky, Schreier proposes a critical thought: “It remains to be seen if Krafton will amend the contract to give Unknown Worlds more time to hit those revenue targets even after delaying Subnautica 2 to 2026.” This could be a great solution, but considering that it hasn’t happened yet, it wouldn’t completely mend the broken trust Krafton has established with fans. If this was the plan, Krafton should have said so immediately.

One final note from Schreier sounds ominous: “And of course, litigation may be looming. This story certainly isn’t over yet.” With so many details still unknown, the potential actions that the Unknown Worlds team can take are vague. But almost everyone agrees that something fishy happened here, no pun intended. For now, we’ll have to wait to see what further details emerge and how certain parties react.

From the gameplay trailer revealed yesterday, Subnautica 2 appears to be a promising co-op experience. Hopefully, this controversy doesn’t get in the way of that.

Subnautica 2

2026

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• Overview

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