The jury sided with the creators of Subnautica 2 in the case of 2025
Eight months after the founders and the former CEO of Subnautica 2 of the developer Unknown Worlds filed a lawsuit against Krafton – the publisher of the oceanic survival game – for firing them and delaying the Early Access release of the game in 2026, a judge in the Delaware Chancery Court has now decided to allow their side in a new decision.
As stated in her decision, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will ordered Krafton to reinstate CEO Ted Gill and give him full control of the decision to release Subnautica 2 in Early Access on all platforms, including Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC platforms such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and Microsoft Store, and on Xbox Game Pass.
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The court dispute that created the situation was messy, with Subnautica 2 facing a boycott by fans of the title and both sides making unpleasant and public statements about the other. The game’s creators said they were completely ready to ship through Early Access, leading to speculation about their firing and the delay being made to prevent a $250m bonus deal.
However, Krafton denied this, saying that the creators of Subnautica “abandoned their responsibilities” and were negligent in their development work. The publisher also argued that the game it wasn’t like that is ready for its Early Access release, and finally said it will extend the $250m bonus period until the end of 2026.
For a long time, many did not know which side of the argument to believe. At least in the eyes of the Delaware Court of Appeals, however, Krafton was wrong, and has now lost control of Subnautica 2’s release date.
So, what now? Well, one can expect to see the underwater survival-horror sequel hitting Xbox and PC very soon given how the original leadership of Unknown Worlds was ready to release it in Early Access, although all the work done on it since then may need time to be prepared for the actual game.
As for what’s left of the case, there’s a “phase two,” which deals with whether Subnautica’s founders lost money because of Krafton’s firing, and whether or not they’ll be compensated. Whatever the outcome of that investigation, the original leadership of the Unknown Worlds ultimately won the day.
🗨️ Who is right?
It’s hard for people like you and me to make definitive decisions since we only have a little information, but anyway, I’d like to know: which side in this situation do you believe is right? The creators of Subnautica, or their publisher Krafton?
Let me know in the comments below, and make sure you vote in our poll:
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