Krafton CEO Accused of Using ChatGPT to Avoid Paying Subnautica Studio Co-Founders

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The legal battle between the creators of the game Subnautica and its publisher, Krafton, has taken a new turn. Lawyers for three of the game’s developers – Charlie Cleveland, Ted Gill, and Max McGuire – are now claiming that Krafton’s CEO used ChatGPT to find ways to avoid paying promised bonuses for Subnautica 2. This accusation is part of a document filed with the court as they prepare for trial.

So, apparently, things got pretty tense between Krafton and Unknown Worlds over the bonuses for Subnautica 2’s Early Access. From what I understand, Krafton’s CEO, Changham Kim, really didn’t want to pay them! It sounds like he was worried about looking like he’d overspent when Krafton bought the studio – basically, he didn’t want to be seen as having made a bad deal. It’s a shame it got to that point, honestly.

According to court documents, Kim was extremely worried about Krafton having to make a large payment as part of their agreement. Maria Park, Krafton’s head of corporate development, explained that the payment would likely still be required if sales targets were met, even if the reason for dismissal was considered valid. Kim then tried using ChatGPT to find ways to avoid the payment, but the AI also indicated it would be challenging to cancel. Despite this, Kim continued to search for a solution.

According to the legal document, this situation led Krafton to delay the initial release of Subnautica 2. This delay moved the release date past the point where they were obligated to pay bonuses. The document claims Krafton did this to avoid paying those bonuses, while still benefiting from the game’s future success.

The legal dispute began when the three founders of the studio announced they were suing Krafton. This followed delays in releasing the early access version of Subnautica 2. Krafton had blamed a lack of strong leadership at the studio, and subsequently replaced the existing leadership team with Steve Papoutsis, the CEO of Striking Distance.

Krafton claimed the three co-founders left the studio and took confidential information with them. The publisher argued that instead of fulfilling the requirements to earn additional payments, the co-founders filed a lawsuit seeking a large sum of money they hadn’t earned. Krafton also pointed out that during acquisition talks, the co-founders had portrayed themselves as essential to the future success of Unknown Worlds.

In September, Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire claimed that Krafton abruptly changed its legal strategy during the lawsuit. In a recent court document, they stated that Krafton fired the original team and took over because those team members had rightfully copied files while working for Unknown Worlds.

Unknown Worlds Entertainment has remained focused on developing Subnautica 2, rather than getting involved in recent industry conflicts. Last month, the studio shared a new development video highlighting one of the massive creatures, known as a Leviathan, that players will encounter when the game launches in 2026.

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2025-11-18 15:11