Overview

• On July 11, former Unknown Worlds co-founders Charlie Cleveland, Ted Gill and Max McGuire filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and wrongful termination after Krafton ousted them.
• Leaked internal slides from May showed Krafton cut key biomes, creatures and narrative elements, prompting the publisher to postpone Early Access from 2025 to 2026.
• In early July, Krafton replaced the studio’s executive team with Steve Papoutsis as CEO and shifted to milestone-driven oversight to accelerate development.
• Krafton extended its bonus structure by offering a $25 million pool for roughly 40 lead developers if Subnautica 2 ships by the end of 2026, down from the original $250 million earn-out.
• The public conflict has drawn scrutiny to the risks of multi-million-dollar earn-out agreements in studio acquisitions and the impact of corporate intervention on creative projects.