Drama surrounding "Subnautica 2": Chief developer dismissed, release postponed
Publisher Krafton has fired the lead developers of "Subnautica 2" and postponed the release – just so the team doesn't get its bonus?
(Image: Unknown Worlds)
Has publisher Krafton postponed the survival game “Subnautica 2” to avoid having to pay the developers a bonus? This suspicion arises, at least according to a report by Bloomberg. According to the report, the development team at Unknown Worlds would have been entitled to a bonus of 250 million US dollars, which the South Korean publisher would have had to pay.
In order for this bonus to be due, Unknown Worlds would have had to achieve certain sales targets by 2025. According to the Bloomberg report, the postponement of the release of “Subnautica 2,” which was originally due to enter Early Access in October 2025 and is now not due to be launched until 2026, means that Unknown Worlds is unlikely to reach the necessary milestone in time.
Krafton denies connection
In its report, Bloomberg does not go so far as to accuse Krafton of unfair intentions. However, the suspicion cannot be dismissed out of hand, especially as Krafton has just fired several executives from Unknown Worlds, including the two founders and the CEO, in a complete surprise.
One of these two founders, Charlie Cleveland, published a lengthy post for the community on Reddit following his dismissal. In it, he wrote clearly: “We know the game is ready for Early Access, and we know you're ready to play it.”
Krafton officially justifies the release postponement with feedback from community tests of the early game versions. “There are a few areas we need to improve before we can release the first version of 'Subnautica 2',” reads a post on the “Subnautica” blog. “We want to give ourselves a little more time to respond to feedback.”
Bonus payments in the millions
Krafton told the games magazine PC Gamer that the release postponement had no contractual or financial background. According to this, a release postponement had already been discussed under the previous management. However, Bloomberg's sources reported that the now dismissed executives had spoken out against a release delay.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Google Ireland Limited) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
According to Bloomberg, the bonus payments were to be shared with the employees. According to Bloomberg, long-standing employees would have been entitled to payments of several hundred thousand US dollars and, in some cases, even millions.
Videos by heise
2nd place in the wish list ranking
Subnautica, which was released in 2018, is one of the most popular indie games on Steam and is considered a milestone in the survival genre. In the game, players explore the underwater world of an alien planet, build bases, and gradually uncover the planet's prehistory. A sequel, Subnautica: Below Zero, was released in 2021. In the same year, Krafton bought the developer studio Unknown Worlds.
“Subnautica 2” is eagerly awaited by thousands of game fans. The survival game is in 2nd place on Steam's wish list ranking, Steam does not publish exact figures.
(dahe)
