Subnautica 2 is No Longer Being Published by Krafton

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The relationship between the developers of Subnautica 2, Unknown Worlds, and publisher Krafton seems to have changed. Game developer Mike Futter noticed on SteamDB that Krafton’s name has been removed from the publisher listing for Subnautica 2 and replaced with Unknown Worlds Entertainment, suggesting Krafton is no longer publishing the game.

I was checking out the Steam page for Subnautica 2 and noticed something interesting. It looks like Unknown Worlds is now handling both the development and publishing of the game. It’s weird because neither the studio nor Krafton has said anything official about it. But the fact that this change happened so quietly suggests they’ve come to some kind of agreement, at least when it comes to releasing Subnautica 2.

Recently, a dispute arose between Krafton and the three founders of Unknown Worlds – Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire. This happened after Krafton announced that Subnautica 2 would enter Early Access in May. In a letter to the Delaware Court of Chancery, a lawyer for the founders argued that Krafton made the announcement inappropriately, potentially harming the game and confusing fans. The letter also claimed Krafton’s announcement was made to benefit themselves rather than the game.

According to a letter from their lawyer, Krafton rushed the game’s launch without considering how it would affect the game itself, the development team, or the player community—and completely ignored the court’s previous ruling. Typically, releasing a game involves a lot of marketing and building excitement with the community. This process was supposed to be led by Mr. Gill, but Krafton took control despite the court’s decision, which the lawyer argues will further harm the game and confuse Subnautica fans.

The news came shortly after a court ruling in the lawsuit between the founders of Unknown Worlds and Krafton, a case that also addressed the reinstatement of Brenda Gill as studio head. The judge ruled in favor of Fortis, the firm representing the founders, on the first part of their claims. Specifically, the court found that Krafton violated their agreement by firing key employees without a legitimate reason and by taking control of Unknown Worlds improperly.

While preparing for the Early Access release of Subnautica 2, Unknown Worlds has been reflecting on the importance of its community. In a recent video, the studio highlighted how player feedback shaped both Subnautica and Below Zero. Level designer Artyom explained, “This company was built on community feedback, and having players’ voices heard throughout the development process was amazing.”

The developers are working on Subnautica 2 for PC and Xbox Series X/S. They haven’t shared details yet about how much of the game will be available at launch, or what their plans are for adding content during the Early Access phase.

As a big fan of Unknown Worlds, this whole situation with Krafton has been wild! It seems like Krafton is completely out of the picture with Subnautica now. I’ve been thinking about what this all means – maybe Unknown Worlds bought them out by waiving any future payments, dropping any lawsuits, and just letting Krafton walk away without getting any more money. If that’s the case, it seems like Krafton actually got a pretty good deal!

— Mike Futter (@futterish.fsquared.biz) 2026-04-13T23:44:36.593Z

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2026-04-14 15:45