Krafton extends a $25 million bonus for Subnautica 2 developers
, by Thibaut
The situation surrounding Subnautica 2 is tense, to say the least. With the delay of the early access to 2026, publisher Krafton has been accused of not wanting to pay out the $250 million developer bonus. This was to be awarded on the basis of Unknown Worlds' financial results.
Since the game was postponed, it became clear that the targets could not be met in order to collect the bonus. Krafton defended himself by explaining that the postponement of Subnautica 2 was solely due to delays during development. An internal document seemed to prove the South Korean company right. The situation nevertheless led to the departure of the studio's co-founders, who chose to sue the publisher.
Now, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier reports that Krafton has decided to extend the schedule for another year. This is to allow developers to collect the famous bonus, and to take into account the postponement of Subnautica 2 until next year. The 40 employees will share $25 million (10% of the total) if results are good over this longer period.
The remaining $225 million was originally earmarked for the founders of Unknown Worlds. But since the latter have left the company, we don't know what will happen to the bonus. This will no doubt be one of the points raised in the legal proceedings.
Source: bloomberg.com