It’s no secret that having and raising a child is more challenging than ever before, but Subnautica 2 and PUBG publisher Krafton may have found the solution to improving population numbers: cold, hard cash. The South Korean-based company recently offered cash-based support for its employees–up to 100 Million Won or around $67,000–per child for childbirth, and the initiative saw double the number of babies born to its employees.
Krafton says that 46 babies were born in the first year of the program, roughly double compared to the same time periods in 2024 and 2025. Krafton’s support includes an initial 60 million Won ($40,100) lump sum for employees who had a child born on or after January 1, 2025, and they could continue to receive a payment of 5 million Won ($3,344) each year over the next eight years of employment at the company.
Additionally, the company has extended parental leave up to two years and introduced other measures as part of its joint research with Seoul National University’s Population Policy Research Center.
“We have confirmed that companies can bring about real change when they actively participate in solving social problems,” Krafton executive director Choi Jae-geun said to Social Economic Daily. “We will continue to set an example in corporate social responsibility and keep building a culture where work and family can be pursued together.”
The results from this program will be used to inform other corporate programs designed to improve South Korea’s disastrously low birth rate. Currently, South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, with various factors contributing to its decline in new births since 2015. Recently, things started to slightly improve. While South Korea is still far away from returning to a fertility rate of 2.1–which is the average number of babies born in a lifetime from a mother–the number has incrementally improved as of 2024.
While it’s some good PR for Krafton, it also comes at a time when the company is navigating controversial waters in the wake of Subnautica’s successful early access release on PC and Xbox Series X|S. One of Steam’s most-played games currently, the road to Subnautica 2’s release saw game delays and lawsuits, with Unknown Worlds studio founders being ousted and eventually reinstated.