Subnautica 2’s creators sue their publisher for ‘severely’ damaging the game’s release

The conflict betwixt Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton and the 3 erstwhile executives astatine its developer Unknown Worlds continues. Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire — the 3 executives who Krafton terminated earlier this twelvemonth — have filed a lawsuit detailing the alleged attempts by Krafton to torpedo the aboriginal entree merchandise of Subnautica 2 with the explicit intent of avoiding paying a promised earnout bonus of $250 million. 

“Krafton’s actions person already severely damaged instrumentality anticipation and undermined the imaginable merchandise of Subnautica 2,” the suit says.

That earnout was promised by Krafton to the erstwhile executives and astir 100 developers and was to beryllium paid should Unknown Worlds deed gross goals by the extremity of 2025. Subnautica 2, slated for aboriginal entree merchandise sometime successful precocious 2025, would person each but assured those goals were met. 

According to the suit filed today  successful a Delaware chancery court, Krafton besides knew Subnautica 2 was connected way to conscionable if not transcend the gross people to trigger the payout and began to instrumentality steps to fundamentally forestall that. The archetypal Subnautica, an underwater endurance escapade game, was a captious and commercialized success, and its sequel has go the 2nd astir wishlisted crippled ever connected Steam.  

The suit details a gathering betwixt Krafton’s US and Korean employees concerning the selling strategy for Subnautica 2. After that meeting, Krafton’s US employees, who worked intimately with the Subnautica 2 team, reported that Kafton’s cognition astir the crippled had changed. 

“Upon their return, the El Segundo team—Krafton employees—reported to Gill that Krafton’s enactment was not focused connected a palmy launch, but alternatively connected however it could person Unknown Worlds to hold the game.”

The suit additionally states that Krafton’s US employees explicitly revealed to the Unknown Worlds founders that “Krafton’s ineligible squad was combing done the agreements looking for immoderate opening to terminate the Founders if they proceeded with the planned release.”

The suit provided the details of the woody successful which Krafton purchased Unknown Worlds backmost successful 2021. The suit says that portion of that woody was an statement that the founders would support power of the institution and the merchandise docket of Subnautica 2, portion Krafton could not impede the game’s improvement nor occurrence Unknown Worlds’ founders without cause.

According to the lawsuit, Krafton launched a run to bash both. Krafton allegedly failed to travel done connected respective of its improvement responsibilities for Subnautica 2 including pulling selling and localization support. “Indeed, 1 of Krafton’s El Segundo publishing employees reported to Gill that Krafton Headquarters told each Krafton teams to halt each originative tasks related

to Subnautica 2.”

The suit claims that Krafton took these obstructionist actions to hold the crippled to explicitly debar the $250 cardinal payout. At a gathering betwixt Krafton CEO Changhan Kim and Charlie Cleveland, Kim allegedly stated that, “if Unknown Worlds released the crippled connected its planned timeline […], it could beryllium disastrous financially and hugely embarrassing for Krafton.” Krafton declined to comment.

After the archetypal communicative broke regarding the alleged crushed for Subnautica’s delay, Bloomberg reported that Krafton agreed to widen the timeline for the earnout to relationship for Subnautica 2’s aboriginal release. Previously, the institution denied that it delayed Subnautica 2 for immoderate different crushed but to polish the game. Earlier this week, an interior papers regarding Subnautica 2’s improvement were leaked connected Reddit. The document, consisting of 2 pictures taken of a machine screen, outlined the contented primitively planned for the game’s aboriginal entree motorboat and however immoderate worldly had to beryllium changed oregon removed to conscionable the merchandise date. 
Krafton acknowledged the veracity of those documents saying, “Given these circumstances, Krafton has determined that transparent connection is indispensable and has chosen to corroborate the authenticity of the document,” perchance to bolster its statement that Subnautica 2 was not acceptable for its aboriginal entree release.