Subnautica 2 maker Unknown Worlds was set for a massive $250 million payout this year if it hit certain revenue targets, Bloomberg reported yesterday. But a fresh delay of one of the most wish-listed games on Steam makes that almost impossible. Publisher Krafton, which changed the release schedule against the objections of the studio’s founders, now denies that it did so to avoid paying the bonuses while also blaming them for the highly anticipated underwater survival sim missing its original target release date.
“This decision was based solely on our commitment to quality and to delivering the best possible experience for players,” the South Korea-based company which also owns PUBG told IGN in a statement responding to Bloomberg’s report. “It was not influenced by any contractual or financial considerations. Additionally, the decision had already been under discussion prior to recent leadership changes at the studio.”
Unknown Worlds cofounders Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and CEO Ted Gill were fired last week, despite Krafton promising the studio independence when it was purchased back in 2022. Cleveland later wrote on Reddit that the game was ready to release in Early Access later this year as originally planned, calling the move from Krafton to replace the studio’s leadership a “shock.”
The publisher now says that the decision to delay Subnautica 2 grew out of negative feedback from playtests. “We received valuable feedback from our community that reinforced our confidence in the game’s direction,” it wrote in its new statement. “At the same time, the feedback highlighted a few areas that could benefit from further refinement before release. As community voices play a central role in how we shape our games, we’ve made the decision to give the development team more time to implement that feedback and deliver a more complete experience.”
Krafton was less diplomatic in a new statement published on its website Thursday afternoon which accused Cleveland and McGuire of refusing to return to their leadership roles on Subnautica 2 after the studio’s fantasy skirmish PVP game Moonbreaker struggled to find an audience last year. The publisher blamed them for Subnautica 2's failure to release in 2024 as originally planned:
Specifically, in addition to the initial $500 million purchase price, we allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives, with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.
However, regrettably, the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them. Subnautica 2 was originally planned for an Early Access launch in early 2024, but the timeline has since been significantly delayed. Krafton made multiple requests to Charlie and Max to resume their roles as Game Director and Technical Director, respectively, but both declined to do so. In particular, following the failure of Moonbreaker, Krafton asked Charlie to devote himself to the development of Subnautica 2. However, instead of participating in the game development, he chose to focus on a personal film project.
Krafton believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule.
The current Early Access version also falls short in terms of content volume.We are deeply disappointed by the former leadership’s conduct, and above all, we feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the trust placed in them by our fans.
The statement also said Krafton was “committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s development,” though a spokesperson for the company didn’t immediately clarify what those bonuses would look like relative to the $250 million payout previously on the table (the publisher said only 10 percent of the payout was originally for developers on the studio floor).
A developer update posted on YouTube confirmed Subnautica 2 would be coming to Early Access in 2025 back in April. It’s unclear what would have meaningfully changed in just two months to lead Krafton to overrule the studio’s leadership and replace them, which has now jeopardized fan enthusiasm for the game in the process. “Subnautica’s soul has just been ripped out,” one fan recently wrote.
Subnautica players have started revolting on the game’s subreddit. A thread calling on fans not to purchase the sequel when it comes out already has over 43,000 upvotes. Others have called for players to flood Krafton with an angry write-in campaign. The publisher has even been compared to Alterra Corp., the fictional in-game company known for hogging resources and mistreating employees. The whole episode has also reignited fans’ fears about Subnautica 2 being plastered with microtransactions.
A financial report from Krafton last year claimed the sequel was being designed using the “Games as a Service” model. “In reference to ‘Games-as-a-Service,’ we simply plan to continually update the game for many years to come, just like the previous two Subnautica games,” the development team rushed to clarify at the time. “Think our Early Access update model, expanded. No season passes. No battle passes. No subscription.” Some players now worry, with the founders gone, that might no longer be the case, though an update from the studio after the leadership change claimed nothing about those plans had changed.
Update, 7/10/2025 3:26 p.m. ET: Added new statement from Krafton and updated headline.
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