Krafton agrees to pay bonuses to Subnautica 2 devs following a year-long legal battle

Krafton Inc has finally brought the curtain down on a year-long legal battle with its subsidiary Unknown Worlds, agreeing to a settlement with the studio's co-founders to pay bonuses to every member of staff following the success of Subnautica 2.

In July 2025, the relationship between publisher Krafton and developer Unknown Worlds exploded when CEO Ted Gill and other members of senior staff were fired. Krafton's deal to publish Subnautica 2 included sales targets that would trigger a $250 million payout to Unknown Worlds, something that the company allegedly wanted to avoid. This was speculated to be the reason behind the survival game's delay from 2025 to May 2026, and the reason given for why Gill and other senior staff were let go.

Gill and the fired staff members responded by filing a lawsuit against Krafton, accusing the company of terminating their employment to avoid paying the fee. The judge in the case agreed and reinstated those sacked, following testimony that claimed Krafton CEO Changhan Kim used ChatGPT to brainstorm ways to avoid the massive payout.

Following claims that Krafton would be forced to pay the $250 million fee due to the success of Subnautica 2, Bloomberg is now reporting that Krafton and Unknown Worlds have come to a legal settlement that will see every employee receive a bonus and bring an end to the legal proceedings.

In an interview with Jason Schreier, Gill stated that the development team will be "compensated significantly more" than under Krafton's initial acquisition agreement back in 2021, and that there will be "further incentives" throughout the game's lifecycle. The original deal only included payments for top executives at Unknown Worlds, whereas this settlement includes everyone working at the company.

As part of this settlement, Ted Gill will depart the company just four months after his dramatic return. He claims that he and Krafton "mutually agreed to part ways," with Gill stating that he felt "new leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward." The report suggests that Unknown World's next CEO will be appointed from outside both companies.

According to Unknown Worlds, Subnautica 2 has been a massive success and sold over four million copies. The game is still in early access, with a full launch and more updates still to come.