According to a recent pre-trial brief, Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton allegedly utilized ChatGPT when seeking legal ways to get out of a $250 million earn-out to developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment for hitting certain milestones. The Subnautica 2 developer’s co-founders—Charles Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill—have been suing Krafton roughly since their terminations in July 2025.
In recent weeks, Krafton has also dedicated itself to being an AI-first company. Following a speech from Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han in October, the company has reportedly moved to buying out current employee contracts to reduce its workforce, as first reported by BusinessKorea. BusinessKorea reports that, in an internal announcement on November 12, employees who worked for less than a year could be bought out for six months’ worth of pay, while employees with 11 or more years at Krafton could collect three years’ worth of salary. All the while, the legal dispute between Unknown Worlds Entertainment and Krafton has been developing week by week.
As first reported by Kotaku, the new filing includes the UWE claim that Krafton asked ChatGPT for ways to avoid paying the aforementioned $250 million earn-out. According to the filing, Krafton felt it overpaid for UWE and that “[Maria Park] told Kim that ‘it seems to be highly likely that the earn-out will still be paid if the sales goal is achieved regardless of the dismissal with cause.” It continued, “Kim turned to artificial intelligence to help brainstorm ways to avoid paying the earn-out. ChatGPT likewise advised that it would be ‘difficult to cancel the earn-out.” The Subnautica 2 cofounders also claim that Krafton would not produce these ChatGPT conversations, saying they no longer existed. Kotaku further reports that Krafton disputes the claim, calling it a “distraction” from the co-founder’s efforts to destroy evidence, namely “anything ‘incriminating’ from their own ChatGPT accounts.”
A Brief Timeline of the Krafton vs. Subnautica 2 Co-Founder Dispute
- Krafton acquired UWE in October 2021, reportedly for $500 million upfront in addition to potentially $250 million for certain sales milestones were hit.
- These sales milestones were related to Subnautica 2‘s release, but otherwise, reports suggested that UWE would remain independent under Krafton.
- UWE revealed Subnautica 2‘s Early Access release target of 2025 in October 2024.
- Krafton replaced UWE’s leadership in late June/early July 2025.
- Shortly after, Krafton delayed Subnautica 2‘s Early Access release into 2026. This was reportedly due to several areas needing improvement, according to those who remained at UWE and Krafton.
- According to Bloomberg, this delay into 2026 meant that the $250 million bonus would not be payable.
- Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill announce their intention to sue Krafton, filing it shortly after the delay.
- The trio claim that Krafton deliberately sabotaged Subnautica 2‘s development to avoid the earn-out, alongside other allegations (such as smaller earn-outs).
- Shortly after, Krafton made a public statement that the UWE founders had abandoned the project and “lost interest” after initial payments to the company, alongside other allegations.
- In August, Krafton’s UWE subsidiary filed its own lawsuit against Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill.
- Both lawsuits remain pending.
It is amid these lawsuits that Krafton has come forward as an AI-first company, reportedly offered these buyouts, and allegedly used ChatGPT in an attempt to avoid the $250 million earn-out. However, it is worth noting that many key facts related to legal disputes are kept under wraps, and while this is about as public as it comes, it is far from over and far from completely transparent.
For many fans, this has created a lot of confusion around any reveal for Subnautica 2—especially given how beloved it is. Subnautica 2 still, officially, has an early access release date of 2026, but it is possible these legal proceedings impact it further. For now, only time will tell what comes from all this.
