Paying the Subnautica 2 team their promised bonus would be "embarrassing", Krafton's CEO allegedly told the game's chief over lunch

The melodramatic dismissal of 3 elder developers astatine Subnautica 2 workplace Unknown Worlds gets messier by the day. In a publically filed lawsuit, the 3 fired heads of the workplace person accused publishers Krafton of each sorts of soiled tactics, ploys, and shenanigans to purposefully hold the crippled until 2026, each successful an intentional effort to debar paying a maximum $250 cardinal earnout bonus to the studio.

In 1 bizarre occurrence alleged successful the lawsuit, Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland went to luncheon with Krafton CEO, Kim Chang-han, who told him via translator that having to wage specified an earnout would beryllium "disastrous financially and hugely embarrassing" for the publisher.

"On May 20, 2025, Cleveland joined Kim (Krafton’s CEO) and immoderate colleagues for lunch," a conception of the suit reads. "Kim said that if Unknown Worlds released the crippled connected its planned timeline (meaning Krafton would person to wage the earnout), it could beryllium disastrous financially and hugely embarrassing for Krafton.

"Krafton aboriginal asserted that Kim ne'er made those statements," the suit continues. "Instead, Krafton claimed Kim’s words had been incorrectly interpreted by the translators..." We person asked Krafton to clarify what Kim truly said, if that is the case, but judging by each our different ignored questions I uncertainty we'll get a satisfactory answer.

Image credit: Krafton

The luncheon took spot astatine the tallness of an incredibly tense standoff betwixt workplace and publisher, conscionable weeks earlier Cleveland was sacked on with chap co-founder Max MacGuire and CEO Ted Gill.

Krafton accused the trio of abandoning their duties connected the game, giving this arsenic the crushed for their dismissal. But the suit filed by Cleveland and co alleges that the steadfast truly shitcanned them to debar paying the important earnout.

To springiness you immoderate background, this bonus would lone beryllium gained if Unknown Worlds deed definite targets by the extremity of 2025. Most of it would person been paid to the 3 men, with 10% acceptable speech for 40 different employees astatine the studio. "Beyond this guarantee," the suit says, "the Founders planned to stock adjacent much of the earnout with their dedicated team".

With that overmuch wealth connected the line, a disagreement emerged betwixt the enactment trio astatine Unknown Worlds, and the suits astatine Krafton. Cleveland and co wanted the crippled released - it would gain the workplace (and themselves) that chunky bonus. Krafton wanted the crippled delayed - it would prevention them millions of dollars and (according to Cleveland astatine least) immoderate embarrassment. From this constituent on, the trio allege, Krafton engaged successful "desperate efforts" to hold the crippled and truthful debar paying the earnout.

Image credit: Krafton

"Krafton engaged successful a months-long run to hold Subnautica 2’s release," says the ineligible doc, posted connected societal media by Cleveland and reported by Aftermath. "It pulled cardinal selling materials, refused to travel done with important partnerships, and reneged connected long-standing commitments to grip important pre-launch tasks. Multiple Krafton employees themselves suggested that these moves were for the intent of frustrating the earnout, contempt the earnout agreement’s prohibition connected taking actions for that purpose."

The suit accuses Krafton of turning to each sorts of soiled tactics successful an effort to frustrate the game's impending merchandise successful that unspecified period of 2025. For example, Krafton allegedly:

• Assigned an wholly caller publishing squad to the game, headed by an worker who didn't talk English. That squad "delayed decisions and delivered incomplete work"
• Issued an "internal halt enactment order" and "told each Krafton teams to halt each originative tasks related to Subnautica 2"
• Ordered each US employees of Krafton antecedently successful interaction with Unknown Worlds to halt communicating with the studio
• Cancelled enactment connected trailers, advertising, and adjacent a beforehand leafage program for PC Gamer magazine.
• Cancelled localisation plans to construe the crippled to 9 languages
• Neglected to constitute up the presumption of work agreements indispensable for the game
• Held a milestone gathering successful May, and demanded that the crippled beryllium delayed (this is perchance the gathering successful which this "leaked" papers was shown)

In different chaotic story, the suit says that Krafton's ain US-based squad successful El Segundo, California, warned 1 of the 3 ill-fated managers astir Krafton's plans, saying the steadfast had radical "combing" done agreements looking for a loophole which would let them to occurrence the 3 cardinal managers.

"Upon their instrumentality [from a concern travel to Korea], the El Segundo team—Krafton employees—reported to [Ted] Gill that Krafton’s enactment was not focused connected a palmy launch, but alternatively connected however it could person Unknown Worlds to hold the game.

"The El Segundo colleagues informed Gill that Krafton’s ineligible squad was combing done the agreements looking for immoderate opening to terminate the Founders if they proceeded with the planned release. The El Segundo colleagues told Gill it was wide that Krafton was aiming to debar paying the earnout."

Image credit: Krafton

As these obstruction efforts intensified, the trio allege that publishing chiefs astatine Krafton met with them and offered a little earnout. But the trio declined, claiming the magnitude was not "anything adjacent to what they deserved, and did not let them to stock the earnout with the afloat team."

Soon after, the 3 men received letters telling them they were fired. Steve Papoutsis, who was installed by Krafton to regenerate the 3 chiefs, allegedly said they were fired for their "intention to proceed with a premature merchandise of Subnautica 2."

"The letters marque wide that the Founders were terminated without cause," says the lawsuit, and this volition apt beryllium a cardinal contention if the lawsuit does spell to tribunal without a settlement. Krafton person already said they terminated the 3 developers due to the fact that those men were absent successful their duties. Cleveland, for example, was accused of spending much clip moving connected his nascent movie institution than moving connected the subaquatic sequel. Although the trio are making counterarguments to this too.

In the suit Cleveland suggests that Krafton's ain CEO Kim Chang-han (the aforesaid antheral who would aboriginal allegedly speech of "embarrassing" circumstances implicit lunch) personally encouraged Cleveland to "develop Subnautica’s 'franchise IP' with cross-media enlargement beyond the game, into tv oregon movies". The suit claims that each parties agreed this "would go Cleveland’s focus".

Image credit: Unknown Worlds

The suit besides claims that Krafton gave the different 2 enactment members the go-ahead to instrumentality connected broader roles that might, presumably, spot them moving a small little intimately connected the crippled and much connected this "franchise IP" stuff.

As for different employees, the suit claims that successful the runup to Subnautica 2's eventual release, "Gill was negotiating inducement bonuses for the galore employees who were not guaranteed to person earnout wage due to the fact that they joined Unknown Worlds aft Krafton’s acquisition."

The full suit is rather an aggravated blast of accusations. It is worthy noting that cardinal parts of the suit are redacted. Important figures, specified arsenic the nonstop projected income numbers of Subnautica 2, and the fig of income of erstwhile games, are blacked out. So are immoderate presumption of the employment contracts betwixt Krafton and Cleveland, MacGuire, and Gill. The nonstop look that would cipher their earnout is redacted too. It's apt much of these details would travel retired if it reaches tribunal without a settlement.

As portion of the lawsuit's demands, the trio privation to beryllium restored to their roles astatine Unknown Worlds, and to beryllium paid "damages successful the magnitude [they] would person received successful earnout payments" had Krafton not fired them all, positive "out-of-pocket loss, damages, and expenses successful an magnitude to beryllium determined astatine trial."

Meanwhile, Krafton bash not look to beryllium backing down.

"While we are disappointed that Charlie, Max, and Ted person filed a suit seeking a immense payout, we look guardant to defending ourselves successful court," they told Aftermath successful a statement. "[D]ecisions were made to guarantee Subnautica 2 is the champion imaginable crippled and lives up to instrumentality expectations. Releasing the crippled prematurely with insufficient content, falling abbreviated of what fans expect successful a sequel, would person some disappointed the players — who are astatine the bosom of everything Krafton does — and damaged the reputations of some the Subnautica and Unknown Worlds brands."