Subnautica 2 has been upstaged this summer by a bitter fight between publisher Krafton and the former leadership team at the game’s studio, Unknown Worlds. Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, as well as CEO Ted Gill were forced out of the studio, and they subsequently filed a lawsuit against Krafton that contends the latter is attempting to avoid paying them a $250 million performance bonus. Now, Krafton has changed its legal argument about why the leadership team was dismissed.
According to PC Gamer, Krafton asserted that the founders intended to release Subnautica 2 in early access this year before the game was ready in order to secure their performance bonus. The founders’ lawyers at Fortis Advisors asked for proof of this assertion during the trial’s discovery phase, and Krafton didn’t provide any. Krafton subsequently withdrew that part of its legal filing and no longer claims it as a reason for their dismissal. Fortis said this marks a “seismic shift in the case” and characterized it as “a little bit bewildering.”
Krafton still maintains that the founders shirked their responsibilities to oversee Subnautica 2 to completion and accuses them of downloading files and keeping devices that had confidential info on them. Although that detail only came to light after the leadership team was removed, Krafton argues that it retroactively justifies their termination.
Fortis contends that Krafton hasn’t been properly cooperating during discovery and is ignoring requests to confer or share information pertinent to the case. The most recent update is that both sides agreed to confer.
This case may play out in court for years, but the battle in the court of public opinion has already begun. After fans openly called for a boycott of Subnautica 2 over reports that the $250 million bonus was being withheld, Bloomberg reported that Krafton has extended the bonus period into next year to allow the Unknown Worlds team a better chance of meeting its financial benchmarks and earning $25 million to be split among 40 employees. The remaining $225 million of that bonus would have gone to the former leadership team prior to their forced exits from the company.
Subnautica 2 is expected to hit early access in 2026 on PC and Xbox Series X|S.