Cliff Notes – Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report
- Krafton has delayed the early access launch of Subnautica 2 to 2026, citing the need for additional development time amid leadership changes at Unknown Worlds.
- Allegations have emerged suggesting the delay is a strategy to avoid paying a $250 million bonus to the studio’s staff, contingent on meeting revenue targets by the end of 2025.
- The gaming community has reacted negatively, with calls for fans to remove Subnautica 2 from their wishlists and demands for the bonuses to be paid to the development team.
Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report
Subnautica 2 – that’s a hefty bonus that’s on the line (Krafton)
A surprise change in leadership and a delay in its release date now haunt Subnautica 2.
The most wishlisted Steam game right now is, unsurprisingly, the ever-elusive Hollow Knight: Silksong. In second place, however, is not something super mainstream like Resident Evil Requiem or Borderlands 4, but underwater survival game Subnautica 2.
Clearly, the Steam community really enjoyed the original Subnautica from 2018 (as did we) and is very excited for its sequel. Much like the first game, developer Unknown Worlds intended to launch Subnautica 2 in early access, with a 2025 date confirmed at an Xbox event last year.
However, publisher Krafton (the South Korean company best known for battle royale PUBG Battlegrounds) has opted to push the game into 2026 and while it says this is because it needs extra development time, the company has been accused of having ulterior motives that involve avoiding paying bonuses to Subnautica 2’s staff.
It has been an incredibly hectic couple of weeks for Unknown Worlds, which Krafton acquired in 2021, a few months after the release of spin-off game Subnautica: Below Zero.
Last week, out of nowhere, Krafton announced it had replaced Unknown Worlds’ leadership team – including Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland – with Steve Papoutsis taking over as the new CEO while still maintaining his position as CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios.
No real reason was given for the sudden change in leadership, with Krafton only saying it was for the sake of ‘delivering the best possible game for the Subnautica community.’
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
This is also why Subnautica 2’s early access launch is being delayed to 2026; a decision that was made shortly after the leadership change, according to a Bloomberg report.
Yet according to a lengthy Reddit post by Cleveland (who described his removal from Unknown Worlds as ‘quite a shock’), Subnautica 2 is ‘ready for early access release,’ implying there’s no need for a delay.
According to Bloomberg, Krafton’s decision also happens to come a few months before it was meant to pay Unknown Worlds’ staff a $250 million (£184 million) bonus.
When Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds, its purchase agreement stated this bonus would be awarded if the studio met certain revenue targets by the end of 2025.
If Unknown Worlds managed to achieve this, the plan was for the bonus to be shared among all 100 members of the studio, with Bloomberg’s sources claiming staff were eligible for bonuses for upwards of seven figures.
With Subnautica 2’s early access launch delayed, however, it’s far less likely that Unknown Worlds will reach those revenue targets, which according to Bloomberg has prompted allegations that the delay is an effort by Krafton to get out of paying staff the extra $250 million.
Bloomberg adds that staff questioned Papoutsis about this during a company town hall meeting. Papoutsis said: ‘It’s never been told to me that we’re making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that,’ insisting Krafton simply didn’t think Subnautica 2 was ready to launch this year.
In a separate statement, Krafton itself has denied any such allegations, saying the decision ‘was not influenced by any contractual or financial considerations.’
Even so, fan response has been negative. Top posts on the Subnautica subreddit are overwhelmingly critical of Krafton, with some asking fellow fans that they remove Subnautica 2 from their wishlist and refuse to buy the game once it launches.
A new gameplay trailer that dropped last night is also inundated with demands that Krafton give Unknown Worlds’ staff their bonuses, although its like/dislike ratio is favourable, with 55,000 likes compared to 6,300 dislikes.
One of the big new features for the sequel is co-op for up to four players (Krafton)
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.