It has been spotted that Krafton is no longer listed as the publisher of Subnautica 2 on Steam. This change in publisher comes in the midst of a legal dispute between developer Unknown Worlds and the PUBG publisher that acquired the studio in 2021.
On April 13, this change in Subnautica 2’s publisher was spotted by analyst Mike Futter on Bluesky, although the change itself was made on April 7. Now, both the developer and publisher duties are attributed to Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Krafton remains listed as the publisher of Moonbreaker, another game released by Unknown Worlds post-Krafton acquisition.
Krafton has not yet publicly commented on Subnautica 2’s apparent change in publisher. We’ve reached out to a Krafton representative for comment and will update this article if we get a response.
Subnautica 2 has been caught in the middle of a legal dispute since last July, when Krafton ousted Unknown Worlds’ founders and delayed the game into 2026. The former developers alleged that Krafton did this, after getting advice from ChatGPT, in an attempt to avoid a $250 million payout it would’ve had to give Unknown Worlds’ founders had they delivered Subnautica 2 in 2025.
A judge forced Krafton to reinstate CEO Ted Gill earlier this year. Now, following this change on Steam, it appears that Unknown Worlds will be independently releasing Subnautica 2 itself.
A May 2026 early access release window had previously been shared by Krafton, although Unknown Worlds’ reinstated founders disputed that announcement. Currently, the Steam page just lists 2026 as the release window.
