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It was never really a question of if, it was always when. And now, according to a new report, it’s apparently happened: Krafton has agreed to pay Unknown Worlds its $250 million earnout bonus following the runaway success of Subnautica 2.
A long time coming
The Korean Economic Daily, citing its own sources and spotted by IGN, claims Krafton has finally agreed to hand over the bonus after Subnautica 2 launched in May 2026 to enormous commercial success, reportedly selling around four million copies and pulling in roughly $100 million in revenue within its first week.
The whole saga began in July 2025 when Krafton fired Subnautica 2 makers Unknown Worlds co-founders Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire. The company framed it as a creative decision, but co-founder Charlie Cleveland’s subsequent Reddit post suggested there was considerably more to it. Bloomberg then revealed the $250 million trigger: a sales milestone tied to the Subnautica franchise, which Krafton allegedly delayed the game to avoid hitting.
From lawsuit to launch
What followed was nearly a year of legal battles, public accusations, and one particularly embarrassing revelation, that Krafton’s CEO had been using ChatGPT to work out how to avoid paying the bonus. A court ruling in February 2026 sided with the founders, ordering their reinstatement.
With over five million wishlists before launch and that kind of opening week, the outcome was, frankly, inevitable. Krafton just made everyone watch it unfold in real time.
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