Communication that sows confusion
The soap opera Subnautica 2 never ends. Earlier this week, a Delaware court ordered the reinstatement of Ted Gill as CEO of the studio. This decision notably gave it control over the early access launch of Subnautica 2 and at the same time prevented Krafton from interfering in this process.
But the next day, an internal message attributed to the management appointed by Krafton (replacing the trio fired by the publisher) and relayed by IGN, mentioned a release in May for early access. A surprising decision which sparked a new controversy. Lawyers for the former leaders are now accusing Krafton of announcing this release window without authorization, even though the court decision ruled in their favor (via Game File).
According to them, this communication was made in an “opportunistic” manner, without consideration for the impact on the game, the teams or the community. They also believe that this announcement should have been made by Ted Gill himself, now reinstated in his functions.
Always a story of big money
At the heart of this battle is a major financial issue. Former executives claim Krafton sought to delay game to avoid paying bonus of up to $250 milliona jackpot conditional on its release in 2026 and its sales performance. The courts have also extended the period of eligibility for this bonus, leaving the possibility of extending it until March 2027.
On the Krafton side, the situation is minimized. The publisher claims that the internal message was merely celebrating a past development milestone and did not challenge Ted Gill’s current authority over the release schedule. But for the studio’s lawyers, this speaking out has already had consequences, by confusing communication around the game and sowing doubt within the community.
Their theory is that Krafton intentionally leaked the internal memo in order to make the announcement as discreet as possible and thus minimize the game’s first sales.. All with the aim of avoiding achieving the objectives triggering the payment of the famous bonus of 250 million dollars.
While we wait for this battle to end, we’re still waiting for a “real” release date for Subnautica 2 Early Access, just to talk about the game for a change.