GoKawiilSubnautica 2 is selling like hotcakes, despite being an unfinished early access release. People have been so desperate for good old-fashioned underwater exploration that the game has already sold at least 4 million copies. This means that publisher Krafton has to finally make good on its promise to pay devs a $250 million bonus, according to a report by IGN.
This bonus has been at the heart of a legal battle between Krafton and developer Unknown Worlds. Krafton bought Unknown Worlds back in 2021 and the contract stipulated that executives and staff would get to share in a $250 million bonus if they hit certain revenue targets. According to the South Korean business press, those targets have been hit and the payout is likely forthcoming.
This wasn't always assured. The developers missed the original revenue target window of 2025 because Krafton delayed the game to avoid making the payout. According to a pre-trial brief, Krafton CEO Changham Kim allegedly nixed the payout because it would be a "professional embarrassment" and make him look like a "pushover." The company also fired the CEO of Unknown Worlds and other co-founders before a judge forced it to reverse course.
It's 2026, so of course there's also a weird AI component to the story. It's been reported that CEO Kim turned to ChatGPT for ideas as to how to avoid paying out that bonus. Even the chatbot said it would be "difficult to cancel the earnout." However, the penny-pinching CEO and his AI bestie eventually came up with something called Project X, which was some kind of convoluted plan to either negotiate a lower bonus amount to take over Unknown Worlds.
"They looked to buy time," vice-chancellor Lori Will of the court of chancery in Delaware said in a ruling. "Over the next month, Krafton followed most of ChatGPT's recommendations."
That didn't work, and here we are. Subnautica 2 is actually available to play, after years of waiting. Meanwhile, Krafton has announced its transformation into an "AI first" company. Good luck with that.