Shake hands with the nearest underwater creature. The legal dispute over Subnautica 2 finally appears to have reached its ultimate conclusion, with a settlement agreed between publishers Krafton and the three Unknown Worlds executives they fired last year. One of those three officials, Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, was reinstated to his position via a judge’s order in March. So, naturally, now that the deal has been made, he voluntarily resigns.
Bloomberg (paywall, via Game developer) broke the news of the settlement, which would have seen both parties fire their Lionel Hutz and Krafton agree to pay bonuses to the developers of Subnautica 2.
According to Gill, Subnautica 2’s developers will be “compensated significantly more” than was originally anticipated in Krafton’s deal to acquire the studio. Originally, Gill, fellow Unknown Worlds founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and staff who worked at the studio when it was purchased in 2021 were to receive bonuses. Now, Gill says this has been expanded to include staff who joined the studio more recently, with studio employees expected to receive “additional incentives” as Subnautica 2 early access updates continue to arrive.
With that, Gill decided his planet needed him. The boss, fired and then reinstated, voluntarily stepped down, declaring that “new management is the best way for the studio to move forward.” To be honest, you can very well understand why he and Krafton decided not to continue working together now that everything is settled and Sub 2 is available in Early Access, given the events of the past year.
Gill told Bloomberg that a new boss from outside Krafton and Unknown Worlds would be sought to replace him. Can I recommend the Leviathan Collector? Things probably wouldn’t get any stranger or more chaotic than they have been throughout the legal battle under his watchful cephalopod gaze. Plus, he probably doesn’t know what ChatGPT is.
In a statement sent to Game Developer, Krafton made it clear that Unknown Worlds would continue to lead the development of Subnautica 2, with the publishers set to provide rather nebulous support “for the success of the game.” It seems to me that they will be tasked with enthusiastically cheering every time a Sub 2 newbie suffers their first death from a large underwater beast.
If there are no more twists in your tail I’m going to miss you a little, Subnautica 2 legal dispute. God knows you were a story.
