After selling to Krafton, Last Epoch dev says fans shouldn't be worried about the Subnautica 2 dispute: 'Krafton isn't looking to change us'

Last Epoch key art with five characters representing each class standing in front of a portal — (Image credit: Eleventh Hour Games)

Fans of action RPG Last Epoch are understandably worried about today's news that the studio behind it has been acquired by the publisher that's currently being sued by a group of recently-ousted Subnautica 2 developers.

Judd Cobler, founder of Eleventh Hour Games, said there's nothing to worry about in a series of posts on the Last Epoch forum.

"We’re aware of the situation with [Subnautica 2 developer] Unknown Worlds," Cobler wrote in a reply underneath the announcement of the acquisition. "I don't want to comment on it directly but after understanding it more deeply it isn't something that concerns us entering into the partnership at all."

In a statement sent to the press, Krafton alleges that the developers "abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them," and left the game in an unreleasable state. It delayed the game into 2026 and says it's "committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s development."

In the announcement post, Cobler said the partnership with Krafton will allow the developer to "deliver things we've only dreamed of previously," and that it will be "hiring many roles in the near future."

The timing of the news is certainly not ideal and Cobler's comments are fairly boilerplate, but some fans are jumping to very big conclusions rather quickly. That said, the skepticism seems warranted and I imagine people will be watching Eleventh Hour Games' decisions like a hawk as it grows over the next year or so.

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Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his specialty is in action RPGs and MMOs, he's driven to cover all sorts of games whether they're broken, beautiful, or bizarre.

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