Subnautica 2 delay allegedly motivated by potential bonus payments

Subnautica 2 is getting delayed to 2026 — that’s a headline that wouldn’t surprise anyone, given that delays happen all the time and are often for the better. In the case of this long awaited sequel, though, it may not be the game’s quality and state of development that caused the delay.

A report by Bloomberg alleges that publisher KRAFTON forced developer Unknown Worlds, which it acquired in 2021, to delay the game to next year in order to avoid paying out a hefty bonus to Unknown Worlds’ staff that would be due if the studio reached certain revenue goals this year — something that’s naturally much more difficult to achieve without a new game.

Since the studio only employs around 100 people, everyone would be eligible for substantial sums of money under this bonus scheme, which is allegedly worth around $250 million USD.

The report recontextualized the firing of Unknown Worlds’ original leadership by KRAFTON last week, connecting it to the publisher wanting to delay the game while the studio’s founders were in favor of releasing it this year. One of them, Charlie Cleveland, even stated on social media following his forced departure that the game was ready to go into Early Access as planned.

KRAFTON denied that the decision to delay Subnautica 2 was connected to any contractual considerations. Internally, KRAFTON has been making the argument that the title lacked the necessary amount of content to keep players engaged, even if the foundation is ready to go.

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