Krafton may have to pay Subnautica 2 devs the $250 million bill it tried to dodge

Subnautica 2 has been such a resounding success for Unknown Worlds that publisher Krafton is going to have to pay $250 million to the game's developers. This comes after a year's worth of turbulence between the companies, which started with Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill and members of the senior staff getting fired back in July 2025, and a judge ordering their reinstatement in March 2026.

The game, which was released on May 14, has seen not only critical success (we called it beautiful and expansive in our Subnautica 2 review of early access) but commercial success too, selling two million copies in its first 24 hours. The game's player base has remained stable, too, averaging 117,000 players a day since release, according to Steam Charts. Now, Alinea Analytics says Subnautica 2 has now broken the four million copies sold mark, which is great news for Unknown Worlds, but potentially bad news for Krafton's bank account.

According to a report in 2025, Krafton's deal to publish Subnautica 2 included sales targets that, if met, triggered massive payouts to Unknown Worlds. This was speculated to be the reason behind the survival game's delay from 2025 to May 2026. Allegedly keen to avoid this, Krafton then fired Gill and a number of senior staff members at Unknown Worlds, blaming them for the delay.

This decision prompted Gill and the ousted team members to launch a lawsuit against Krafton, alleging that the publisher had only terminated them to avoid paying the fee. A judge agreed with their take, ordering Krafton to reinstate not only the group but also the bonus payment. The legal battle became an internet meme when it was claimed that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had used ChatGPT to come up with ways to avoid paying Unknown Worlds the bonus, and allegedly followed the chatbot's advice as it attempted - and failed - to acquire Unknown Worlds as a way to avoid the expense.

Now, according to The Korean Economic Daily, the deal states that every time Unknown Worlds' monthly revenue reaches above $69.8 million, Krafton has to pay $3.12 for every dollar made, up to a maximum of $250 million. Alinea Analytics estimates that Subnautica 2 has made around $100 million in revenue so far, smashing through that target and triggering the payout.

While it's not confirmed that Krafton has paid the fee, The Korean Economic Daily's sources state that it does intend to honor the agreement, so Gill and Unknown World look set for a big payday. PCGamesN has reached out to Krafton for comment and will update this article with any response.