KRAFTON has responded to the lawsuit. It says the delay was to make sure Subnautica 2 meets fan expectations. The company claims the game doesn’t have enough content yet and releasing it early would hurt both the Subnautica brand and Unknown Worlds. It denies any wrongdoing and says it’s ready to defend itself in court.

$250 million bonus at the centre of it all

The legal battle between KRAFTON and Unknown Worlds just got serious. The full lawsuit filed by Subnautica 2‘s creators is now public. It accuses KRAFTON of blocking the game’s launch on purpose just to avoid paying a $250 million bonus.

Here’s the background.

In 2021, KRAFTON bought Unknown Worlds for $500 million. A bonus of $250 million was promised if revenue targets were hit by the end of 2025. Most of that would’ve gone to co-founders Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill. They also planned to share it with other team members.

But things reportedly changed when KRAFTON realised Subnautica 2 could hit early access this year. That would have pushed revenues high enough to trigger the bonus.

The lawsuit says KRAFTON‘s CEO, Changhan Kim, admitted the payout would be “disastrous” and “hugely embarrassing.” KRAFTON now claims that was a translation mistake.

From there, things allegedly went downhill fast.

“It pulled key marketing materials, refused crucial partnerships, and backed out of launch plans,” the lawsuit says.

The devs didn’t give up. They pushed forward on their own. But then, on July 2, KRAFTON fired all three co-founders.

The lawsuit says they were removed “without cause.” With them gone, KRAFTON delayed Subnautica 2 to 2026. This, the lawsuit argues, was done to avoid hitting the revenue goals and skipping the $250 million payout.

There’s more.

KRAFTON had earlier claimed the co-founders “abandoned” the studio to work on a personal film. But the lawsuit says they were actually working on a Subnautica movie one KRAFTON asked for.

On the game’s status, KRAFTON said internal feedback showed it wasn’t ready. The co-founders strongly disagreed. They say the people judging the game had no experience with early access titles. And the feedback, according to them, actually proved Subnautica 2 was ready.

One last shocking detail, the lawsuit says KRAFTON took over the Subnautica website and published the delay announcement without telling anyone at the studio.

The closing words of the lawsuit are direct:

“KRAFTON broke its promises. It took the game from its creators and its community just to protect its bottom line.”

The court battle is just beginning. Expect more twists ahead.

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