Krafton Ordered to Reinstate Subnautica 2 CEO, Gives Early Access Control
A ruling has been made in the lawsuit between Krafton and the co-founders of Unknown Worlds, creators of the Subnautica series. The judge ordered Krafton to reinstate Subnautica 2 CEO Ted Gill.
Ted Gill was abruptly fired in July last year alongside co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. Krafton claimed a variety of reasons behind this, including incompetence and theft of trade secrets, while the studio claimed that Krafton was just trying to get out of paying a bonus, around $250 million, for the timely delivery of the game. The full filing can be viewed here and gives the breakdown of the case and arguments for both sides.
Allegedly, Krafton used ChatGPT to brainstorm ways to avoid paying the bonus, and even discussed a takeover through the company’s Slack messages.
According to Kotaku, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Chancery Court stated: “Krafton breached the EPA by terminating the Key Employees without valid cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds. As a result, the July 1, 2025 Board resolution that saw Gill and others dismissed from the company is declared ineffective to the extent it infringes on Gill’s operational control rights.”
The judge also ordered the $250 million bonus payout window to be extended until September 15, with a further extension possibility.
The judge ruled that Gill should be given “full operational authority” over Unknown Worlds, and even specified that Gill can now release Subnautica 2 in early access.
After a nine-month dispute between publisher Krafton and the figures behind Subnautica 2‘s development team, this is definitely a sigh of relief for both the developers and fans. Though Krafton isn’t too pleased.
In a statement to Kotaku, Krafton said, “While we respectfully disagree with today’s ruling, we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward. Today’s ruling does not resolve the former executives’ claim for damages or an earnout related to Subnautica 2, with further litigation still pending.”
Before the co-founders were fired, Cleveland posted on Reddit saying the studio knew “the game is ready for early access release and we know you’re ready to play it.” This hopefully means we’ll be seeing the game in early access soon on Steam. With it being one of the most anticipated releases of the year, especially because it offers co-op, this is amazing news for everyone.
