Judge sides with Subnautica 2 founders in lawsuit against publisher Krafton over long Early Access delay, $250 million bonus — the former CEO is back, too

Eight months after the founders and former CEO of Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds filed a lawsuit against Krafton — the oceanic survival game's publisher — for firing them and delaying the game's Early Access release into 2026, a judge in the Delaware Chancery Court has now decided in favor of their side in a new ruling.

As stipulated in her decision, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will has ordered Krafton to reinstate CEO Ted Gill and give him full control of the decision to release Subnautica 2 in Early Access on all platforms, including Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC platforms like Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store, and also on Xbox Game Pass.

She also ordered Krafton must extend the deadline Unknown Worlds devs can earn a $250 million bonus split across its teams for hitting certain revenue targets — a deadline originally set for the end of 2025, a few months after Subnautica 2's original Early Access release date. Many believe the replacement of studio leadership and the subsequent delay into 2026 was performed by Krafton to avoid having to pay this bonus.

"Judgment is entered in favor of Fortis [Unknown Worlds' legal representative] on its Phase One claims," Will wrote in her ruling. "Krafton breached the EPA by terminating the Key Employees without valid Cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds."

She went on to say that "The July 1, 2025 Board resolution is declared ineffective to the extent it infringes on Gill’s operational control right," and stated that Krafton is "enjoined" from "impeding Gill’s authority" over Subnautica 2's release. The period in which the devs can earn the $250m bonus has been extended to September 15, 2026, and may be potentially extended to March 15, 2027.

The dispute that brought this situation into a courtroom was quite messy, with Subnautica 2 facing boycotts from fans of the title and both parties making some very unpleasant and very public statements about one another. The game's founders said it was completely ready to ship in Early Access, leading to speculation their firing and the delay were done to skirt around the $250m bonus agreement.

However, Krafton denied this, asserting that Subnautica's creators "abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them" and were negligent in their development duties. The publisher also argued that the game wasn't ready for its Early Access release, and eventually said it would extend the period for the $250m bonus to the end of 2026.

For a long time, many didn't know which side of the controversy to believe. At least in the eye of the Delaware Chancery Court, though, Krafton was in the wrong, and now has lost control over the release date of Subnautica 2.

So, what now? Well, one might expect to see the underwater survival-horror sequel hit Xbox and PC very soon given how ready Unknown Worlds' original leadership was to release it into Early Access, though all the work done on it since then may require some time to be made ready for actual gameplay.

As for what remains of the litigation, there's "phase two," which pertains to assessing whether or not Subnautica's founders have suffered monetary damage from Krafton's firings, and whether or not they'll be compensated in some form. Regardless of the outcome of that investigation, though, Unknown Worlds' original leadership has ultimately won the day.

🗨️ Who's in the right?

It's hard for folks like you and I to make any definitive judgements since we're only privy to a small amount of information, but even so, I'd like to know: which side in this situation do you believe is in the right? Subnautica's founders, or their publisher Krafton?

Let me know in the comments below, and also make sure to vote in our poll:

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