Just a week after gutting the leadership of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, a Bloomberg report says Krafton is going to delay the game’s early access release into 2026. The decision comes mere months before the PUBG publisher was slated to pay Unknown Worlds a $250 million bonus that developers say hinged on Subnautica 2’s release this year.
Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds in 2021, three years after the hit undersea survival game Subnautica left early access and went into full release. The purchase agreement, according to Bloomberg, included the $250 million bonus, payable if the studio achieved specific revenue targets by the end of 2025; with Subnautica 2 delayed into 2026, those targets are unlikely to be met, and thus the bonus will not be payable.
Unknown Worlds leadership had reportedly planned to split the bonus with all of the studio’s roughly 100 employees, payouts worth hundreds of thousands or even millions for some. Those leaders—Subnautica designer and director Charlie Cleveland, CEO Ted Gill, and studio co-founder Max McGuire—were unexpectedly shown the door last week, however.
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The report adds a new dimension to a recent statement made by Cleveland, who said earlier this week that Subnautica 2 “is ready for early access release.” Speaking to Unknown Worlds employees during a town hall also held this week, however, newly installed CEO Steve Papoutsis, formerly the CEO of Krafton’s Striking Distance Studios, insisted otherwise, and said Subnautica 2 is being held back so developers can add more content.
When asked during that town hall whether the delay was made so Krafton could avoid paying the bonus, Papoutsis said he’s not familiar with the specifics of its deal to acquire Unknown Worlds, but that “it’s never been told to me that we’re making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that.”
For now, the Subnautica 2 Steam page still lists a 2025 early access release date. I’ve reached out to Krafton for comment and will update if I receive a reply.
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