The long, messy legal battle over Subnautica 2 between the game’s developer, Unknown Worlds, and its publisher, Krafton, has seemingly come to an end. Krafton will pay all previously promised bonuses to employees as part of a settlement with Unknown Worlds’ CEO and co-founders. And the studio’s CEO, Ted Gill, who was fired last year by Krafton and then reinstated via a court order, is stepping down.
As reported by Bloomberg, Krafton and Unknown Worlds have finally reached a settlement in a legal fight that started last summer after the publisher fired Gill and studio co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, claiming they had failed to do their jobs. The three execs filed a lawsuit against Krafton and claimed the publisher fired them and delayed the then-unreleased Subnautica 2 to avoid paying a massive $250 million bonus.
In March, a judge ordered Krafton to reinstate Gill as CEO, and he was given control back over Subnautica 2‘s launch. We also learned that the CEO of Krafton used ChatGPT for legal advice. That didn’t work out. Subnautica 2 finally arrived in May and became a huge hit, ensuring the devs would get that big bonus attached to the game succeeding. But Gill is also stepping down as part of the end of this legal battle.
“New leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward,” Gill told Bloomberg. He also said that he “mutually agreed to part ways” with the studio.
The new legal settlement means that all current employees of Unknown Worlds will receive a large bonus due to Subnautica 2‘s massive success. The bonuses will be paid in three annual installments. Previously, only employees who were around when Krafton purchased the studio in 2021 were going to get the bonuses.
Krafton and Unknown Worlds are now searching for a new CEO, and both are looking for someone from outside either company.