Culminating a messy, year-long legal spat, Krafton has agreed to pay bonuses to the studio staff of Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment, having reached a settlement with the studio's leadership—including ousted-and-subsequently reinstated-by-court-order CEO, Ted Gill.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Gill said he has voluntarily resigned as studio executive, having "mutually agreed to part ways" following the settlement agreement.
Additionally, Gill said Unknown Worlds staff will be "compensated significantly more" than originally specified in the studio's initial bonus terms, and that all Unknown Worlds employees—not just those who were employed at the time of the Krafton's acquisition of the studio—would receive bonus payouts in three annual installments.
Krafton purchased Unknown Worlds in 2021 for $500 million, agreeing to pay the studio a further $250 million if it achieved certain financial goals—particularly, delivering successful Subnautica 2 sales performance. In 2025, as Subnautica 2's original release window neared, Krafton fired Gill and Unknown Worlds co-founders Charlie Cleveland before delaying Subnautica 2's early access launch into 2026.
The three ousted studio executives responded with a lawsuit, alleging the firings and delay were a ploy intended to allow Krafton to dodge having to fulfill the agreed bonus payouts. Ultimately, a Delaware judge ordered Krafton to reinstate Gill and extend the bonus earnout period to accommodate Subnautica 2's delayed launch—but not before it was revealed that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had sought ChatGPT's advice when formulating plans for stiffing the studio.
That's what experts in corporate law call "a bad move." Particularly when it could cost your company the equivalent of one-third of its 2025 annual profit.
"We're all super excited about Subnautica 2 and its tremendous success," Gill said, presumably moments before doing one of those heel click jumps on his way out the door.
