"Subnautica 2": Krafton likely has to pay developers $250 million
Krafton to pay Unknown Worlds $250 million: "Subnautica 2" has sold 4 million copies, likely triggering the earn-out clause.
(Image: Unknown Worlds)
“Subnautica 2” apparently triggered the earn-out clause in Krafton's purchase agreement with Unknown Worlds shortly after its early access launch. According to the Korea Economic Daily, publisher Krafton is now to pay up to 250 million US dollars to the former Unknown Worlds shareholders.
According to the Korea Economic Daily, the purchase agreement stipulates: As soon as Unknown Worlds' monthly studio revenue exceeds 69.8 million US dollars, Krafton will pay 3.12 US dollars for each earned dollar of revenue – a maximum of 250 million US dollars in total. With 4 million games sold and a purchase price of 30 US dollars, one can roughly estimate that Unknown Worlds has likely already surpassed this maximum sum.
“Subnautica” alone had sold 2 million times in the first twelve hours. The survival game had previously topped the Steam wish list charts for a long time and is also available on Xbox Series X/S. It can also be played as part of the Game Pass subscription service.
Krafton vs. Unknown Worlds
In the summer of 2025, Krafton had dismissed Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill as well as co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire and postponed the early access launch to 2026. They later accused Krafton in court of wanting to circumvent the earn-out payment. The new early access date no longer fell within the period originally defined by the earn-out clause.
During the court proceedings at the Delaware Court of Chancery (Case No. 2025-0805-LWW), it became known that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had consulted ChatGPT, among others, to find ways to avoid the payment. The court found that Krafton could not provide a justified reason for the dismissals. In March 2026, it reinstated the dismissed CEO Ted Gill and extended the earn-out period until September 15, 2026. The former Unknown Worlds managers had announced that they would share the payment with the studio employees.
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According to a Reddit post by creative producer Scott MacDonald, about 70 people are working on “Subnautica 2.” Last year, Bloomberg reported that Unknown Worlds had about 100 employees.
(dahe)
