Subnautica 2 developers at Unknown Worlds are set to receive huge bonuses as legal battle comes to an end

The Subnautica 2 legal battle between developer Unknown Worlds’ leadership and publisher Krafton has come to an end. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the two sides had come to a settlement in which Krafton will pay bonuses to the entire staff of Unknown Worlds.

Additionally, the recently reinstated Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill is stepping down. “New leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward,” he told Bloomberg.

According to Gill, the teams at Unknown Worlds will be “compensated significantly more” than previously expected. “Further incentives” will be on the way for them as the game marches on in early access. Even better? Everyone at Unknown Worlds will be eligible for the bonus payout. Originally, only Unknown Worlds’ three top executives and the staff who were with the company in 2021, when Krafton acquired it, were expected to be paid a bonus.

The clash between Unknown Worlds and Krafton began last summer. In July 2025, Krafton delayed Subnautica 2‘s early access release and fired key Unknown Worlds executives, prompting a legal battle over a potential $250 million bonus payout to Unknown Worlds. In March 2026, Krafton was ordered by a judge to rehire the fired Gill.

Krafton and Gill got into a spat after Krafton unceremoniously announced a May 2026 release window for Subnautica 2 before Gill could get a good look at the game and the team at Unknown Worlds. There were some eyebrows raised in April when Krafton was removed from the publisher field on Subnautica 2‘s Steam page, but Unknown Worlds later confirmed to gamexplore that Krafton was still the game’s co-publisher.

Subnautica 2 has been well-received and players quickly swam to it, with the game selling 1 million copies in its first hour on sale. It’s now sold over 4 million copies in about seven weeks.