It’s only been about a week since Subnautica 2‘s development studio Unknown Worlds recently lost its founding members Ted Gill, Max McGuire, and Charlie Cleveland, and having them completely replaced by former Striking Distance Studios CEO Steve Papoutsis. Since then, Subnautica 2 has already been confirmed to have been delayed until sometime in 2026, with early playtests having quote:
“provided some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world. Our community is at the heart of how we develop, so we want to give ourselves a little extra time to respond to more of that feedback before releasing the game into Early Access.”
The timing is suspicious as this decision comes only a few months before the deadline when Krafton (the publisher of such games as PUBG) had previously expressed their intent to provide Unknown Worlds with a $250 million bonus that was supposedly dependent on the success of Subnautica 2‘s early access launch this year. Back in 2021, Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds only three years after Subnautica received its full official release. The agreement for purchase included the $250 million bonus, reportedly payable only if the studio achieved a set revenue target by the end of 2025, with Subnautica 2 providing the bulk of aid in meeting that goal.
Unfortunately, with the delay, it’s likely that the goal won’t be met. This feels a bit like Krafton trying to save some money by delaying to “give ourselves a little extra time,” but perhaps I’m misunderstanding the big picture. A representative from Krafton had this to say:
“This decision was based solely on our commitment to quality and to delivering the best possible experience for players. 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.”
Uknown Worlds’ previous leadership, CEO Ted Gill, studio co-founder Max McGuire, and Subnautica designer and director Charlie Cleveland had planned to split the bonus with all of the studio’s 100 or so employees, with payouts being in the hundreds of thousands, and even millions for key members. However, just recently those members of leadership were given the boot. These were the founders and visionaries behind the studio and its greatest achievements, and just like that, they’re out!
Speaking to Unknown Worlds employees this week at a company town hall, the newly installed CEO Steve Papoutsis, formerly the CEO of Krafton’s Striking Distance Studios, insisted that the game was being delayed in an effort to give the developers more time to provide additional content and spend more time improving the quality of the game. If that’s the case, then what’s the point of an early access launch then?
Before being laid off, Charlie Cleveland had just stated that Subnautica 2 “is ready for early access release.” If that’s the case, then why else would Krafton delay the launch if not to hold on to that money? It’s not as though the game was getting its official full release. It was going to be launched into early access just like the previous titles in the series, and that’s the place where fans can provide further feedback to iron out the bugs. It’s fine for early access games to not be polished and perfect because that’s what early access builds are for!
When asked whether or not the delay was made so Krafton could avoid paying the bonus, Papoutsis said he isn’t familiar with the specifics of the deal, but that, “it’s never been told to me that we’re making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that.”
This whole situation reeks of old alien fish, and I feel terribly sorry for the hardworking employees at Unknown Worlds. Hopefully Krafton lives up to its financial obligation as it was their decision to delay the title’s release, not the developers’. That would be like doing your job all pay period, and then your boss deciding to keep your paycheck for themselves because they decided that you had more work to do! Legality aside, does that sound fair to you? Does that sound like the action of a just and respectful company?
If Krafton doesn’t follow through on their promise after pulling a stunt like this, then they will have doomed themselves to failure and will likely lose many fans and employees in the process. I really hope that they are being honest when they say that the delay is for quality purposes, and I hope that they still sort out the bonuses accordingly. If not, they will certainly have a reckoning on their hands in more ways than one. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a super-sleuth to figure out what’s going on.
