The plot continues to thicken within the ongoing battle between the previous management of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, and father or mother firm Krafton, now with the studio’s founders alleging in a lawsuit that Krafton went out of its approach to hinder Subnautica 2’s growth, delay the sport, and in the end hearth them from the studio after it discovered it could have to pay out a $250 million bonus to staff if the sport had been to be launched on time.
In a newly-unsealed grievance reported by Bloomberg and shared by Aftermath, former Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, and fellow co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire declare their relationship with Krafton, in addition to the event of the sport, was all going properly up till early 2025, when the leaders introduced Krafton with new income projections that instructed Subnautica 2 would do higher than they initially anticipated. In addition they say they tried to negotiate for builders who had joined the staff later and weren’t at present eligible for bonuses to obtain them.
The previous leaders declare that upon studying this, Krafton started to recommend the sport be delayed, allegedly combing by means of contracts to decide if that they had a authorized standing to pressure a delay, regardless of the contract saying the choice lay with Unknown Worlds. They are saying that Krafton even went as far as to take motion to make it troublesome or unimaginable for it to launch on time. Krafton started providing suggestions that the sport was not prepared for its early entry launch, pulled advertising and marketing supplies, and refusing to observe by means of on sure pre-launch commitments. Finally, the founders say this culminated in Krafton letting the three of them go earlier this month and formally delaying Subnautica 2.
Whereas Krafton has since prolonged the bonus interval for the remaining staff to obtain their earnout if targets are hit, notably Krafton has claimed that the previous management was eligible for 90% of the bonuses, that means Krafton would solely have to pay a most of $25 million if targets are met, not $250 million.
The founders’ lawsuit accuses Krafton of breach of contract and calls for payout of the complete bonus promised in addition to damages and different prices.
The drama round Subnautica 2 kicked off earlier this month when Krafton introduced instantly that it was changing the three founders with former Hanging Distance CEO Steve Papoutsis successfully instantly, which Gill, Cleveland, and McGuire claimed was a “shock” to them. Within the following weeks, stories have emerged concerning the $250 million bonus promised to workers, and Krafton has made statements accusing the previous leaders of neglecting their duties and saying that Subnautica 2 was not in an appropriate state for launch. Specifically, Krafton alleged that Cleveland was informed to cease devoting time to a private undertaking and deal with his duties on the studio. The lawsuit, filed final week, counters that this private undertaking was a Subnautica movie, and was labored on on the specific request of Krafton.
The readiness of Subnautica 2 stays an open query. Leaked documents since verified by Krafton affirm that Unknown Worlds was receiving suggestions from the writer that the sport was not prepared for early entry launch. Nevertheless, a report from Bloomberg that sources builders on the undertaking, in addition to the lawsuit from the founders, recommend it was in good condition.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Yow will discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Acquired a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.