The long-running legal battle between publisher Krafton and developer Unknown Worlds has finally reached a resolution that clears the way for Subnautica 2 to reach players. A Delaware court has ordered that CEO Ted Gill be reinstated as the head of Unknown Worlds, and the May early access launch will cover both PC and Xbox versions, though an exact date has not been announced.
What started as a disagreement over game development quality evolved into something far more troubling. Krafton had fired Gill, co-founder Charlie Cleveland, and technical director Max McGuire last year, accusing them of an "absence of core leadership". The company claimed the game was not ready. But the court saw it differently. According to the judge, Krafton's CEO feared that Subnautica 2's early access release would trigger the earnout payment owed to the founders, and decided to fire them for cause, which has now been ruled a breach of contract.
The financial stakes explain the conflict. Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds Entertainment for $500 million in 2021, and as part of the deal, agreed to pay an additional $250 million earn-out bonus if the studio hit certain sales targets. When Subnautica 2 appeared close to meeting those targets, the situation changed. Internal financial models predicted that a successful August 2025 early access launch with over 1.67 million copies sold by Q4 2025 would generate significant revenue and trigger the earnout, with estimates ranging from $191.8 million to $242.2 million.
Rather than accept this outcome, Krafton took an unusual step. Krafton's CEO Changhan Kim consulted ChatGPT rather than calling his lawyers, fearing he had agreed to a "pushover" contract and seeking an AI chatbot's help to contrive a corporate "takeover" strategy. According to court documents, Krafton CEO Changhan Kim consulted ChatGPT multiple times for help with how to message the leadership change to fans. The court found this approach particularly troubling. Will found Krafton had improperly ousted the Unknown Worlds leadership, and noted company executives are expected to exercise independent human judgment rather than outsource good-faith decisions to an AI.
The judge's decision was sweeping. The ruling stated that "Krafton breached the EPA [Equity Purchase Agreement] by terminating the key employees without valid cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds". Krafton must "immediately restore [Gill's] access to the Steam platform", and is not allowed to "impede Gill's authority over the early access launch of Subnautica 2". Additionally, the judge extended the eligibility period for the $250 million sales bonus for the development team to September 15, and noted the co-founders have a "contractual right to further extend" this to March 15, 2027.
Krafton has signalled it is not finished fighting. The company stated it respectfully disagrees with the court ruling and intends to explore all legal avenues, though its stated goal is to minimize disruption to the team and release plan while remaining committed to an open development approach and focusing on delivering the best possible experience to players.
For Unknown Worlds, the ruling provides relief after months of uncertainty. Co-founder Charlie Cleveland said it had been a tough eight months for the studio and the Subnautica community, but added "today, we've been vindicated". With Gill restored to leadership and the May release window confirmed, the studio can now move forward with the project's original vision intact.