Unknown Worlds’ cofounders were fired out of the blue earlier this year and have been suing publisher Krafton ever since claiming it wrongly terminated them to avoid paying a $250 million bonus if Subnautica 2 hit certain sales milestones. The studio’s cofounders now claim in new filings based on discovery during the legal process that Krafton engineered a takeover only after it failed re-negotiate lower bonuses. The publisher’s CEO allegedly even consulted ChatGPT to try and get out of the massive payout.
A copy of a pre-trial briefing recently filed on behalf of Unknown founders Charles Cleveland, Adam “Max” McGuire, and Edward “Ted” Gill includes new evidence they say vindicates their side of the dispute. Namely, that Krafton was well aware of their ongoing roles within the company, that they weren’t directly leading Subnautica 2’s development, and that concerns about delaying the top-wishlisted Steam game over missing content only arose after Krafton got worried about having to make the $250 million payout it agreed to back when it acquired the studio.
“Krafton terminated the Founders and seized control of Unknown Worlds in order to avoid the earnout,” reads the group’s latest filing. “Smoking gun documents show that Krafton was looking for ways to “cancel the earn-out” and that its secret “Project X” was designed to either make a “Deal” on the earnout or execute a “Take over.” When the Founders would not agree to Krafton’s demands related to the earnout, Krafton decided a “take over” would be the “easier” route.”
It goes on to cite snippets of internal communications at Krafton, including an apparent conversation between the publisher’s CEO, Kim Chang-han, and its head of global operations, Richard Yoon:
Fortis Advisors / Kotaku
The exchange suggests Krafton was not only seeking to lowball the cofounders on their original bonus but the rest of the development team as well.
The new filing also claims that Krafton felt it had overpaid for Unknown Worlds and wanted to avoid following through on the originally contractually obligated payouts at all costs, even going so far as to ask an AI chatbot for help. “[Maria Park] told Kim that ‘it seems to be highly likely that the earn-out will still be paid if the sales goal is achieved regardless of the dismissal with cause,’ the new filing reads. “Kim turned to artificial intelligence to help him brainstorm ways to avoid paying the earnout. ChatGPT likewise advised that it would be ‘difficult to cancel the earn-out.’” The cofounders claim Krafton refused to “produce the ChatGPT conversations and, when pressed, confirmed
that they no longer exist.”
The pre-trial briefing goes on to claim that Krafton is now throwing new justifications for the cofounders firings “in hopes that one might stick.” This includes allegations the cofounders “intentionally” deceived the publisher about job changes and other important studio business, and also stole files before their firings. The cofounders dispute this, arguing that Krafton was well aware of everything going on and that no confidential information was ever disseminated. They further claim that no one in Krafton, prior to the firings, ever expressed the need to delay Subnautica 2 from its upcoming August Early Access launch.
A culture of “silence and unease”
Instead, they argue that their firings hurt studio morale and made development harder. “Krafton’s own internal report captured the damage: employees cited ‘a significant lack of trust in Krafton,’ frustration that support for Subnautica 2 had been pulled in the weeks before launch, and fear that anyone who pushed back could be fired,” the filing reads. “The open, transparent culture that defined Unknown Worlds—and fueled its open development success—gave way to silence and unease.”
Krafton did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the group’s latest claims.
Back in August, the company said it had replaced management at in order to protect Subnautica 2‘s development and would pay remaining staff launch bonuses anyway. “Krafton was not willing to take the risk of the resulting damage to the Subnautica franchise and the Company’s long-term reputation–a risk that, if materialized, would be irreversible, as shown with Kerbal Space Program 2,” its legal response read. “As Unknown Worlds’ sole stockholder, Krafton had invested $500 million in the success of not only Subnautica 2, but also Subnautica 3, Subnautica 4, and any other future Subnautica franchise product.”
“We believe the facts speak for themselves,” it continued. “This answer reflects our commitment to protecting both the Subnautica IP and the global community that has supported it for years.”
Subnautica 2 is currently schedule to release some time in 2026.
