Subnautica 2 legal saga ends: Krafton pays bonuses, CEO Ted Gill exits

The year-long legal battle between Korean publisher Krafton and Unknown Worlds Entertainment is over. Krafton has agreed to pay bonuses to every Subnautica 2 developer, and studio CEO Ted Gill has resigned as part of the settlement — confirmed by a Bloomberg report on July 1.

Under the deal, all Unknown Worlds staff — both those who were at the studio during Krafton's 2021 acquisition and those hired since — will receive bonuses paid out in three annual installments. Gill told Bloomberg the team will be "compensated significantly more" than the original acquisition terms promised, with "further incentives" tied to future Subnautica 2 updates. The exact dollar figure wasn't disclosed. Gill himself is out, and both companies are searching for a new CEO from outside Krafton and Unknown Worlds. "We mutually agreed to part ways," Gill said. "New leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward."

The dispute kicked off in July 2025 when Unknown Worlds sued Krafton for refusing to pay $250 million in bonuses the studio believed it was owed. The fallout was messy: Subnautica 2 got delayed, and Gill was fired — only for a judge to reinstate him in March 2026 after ruling that Krafton's CEO had consulted ChatGPT for advice on how to avoid paying the bonuses. Despite all of that turbulence, Subnautica 2 launched on PC and Xbox Series X|S on May 14 and sold 4 million copies within four days, hitting impressive player counts almost immediately after release.

Gill, no longer employed at Unknown Worlds, still sounded upbeat about the game's performance. "We're all super excited about Subnautica 2 and its tremendous success," he told Bloomberg. The studio now moves forward under interim or incoming leadership, with the bonus payments secured and the litigation closed.