Subnautica 2 Studio CEO Reinstated by Judge, Who Says Krafton Fired “Without Valid Cause”

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A Delaware court has ordered Ted Gill, the former CEO of Unknown Worlds, to be reinstated to his position. Gill, along with co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, was fired by Krafton almost a year ago.

Fortis, representing the original founders of Unknown Worlds, has won the first phase of its legal battle against Krafton. The court found that Krafton violated their agreement by firing key employees without justification and by taking over control of Unknown Worlds improperly, according to Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will.

A decision made by Krafton’s board on July 1st, 2025, has been overturned because it interfered with Gill’s ability to manage the company. As a result, Gill will be reinstated to his position and will once again be in charge of launching the early access version of Subnautica 2. Krafton is also legally prevented from firing him. Furthermore, the original founders are now entitled to receive the promised bonuses from the $250 million payout Krafton agreed to as part of acquiring Unknown Worlds.

We’ve extended the deadline to collect payouts until September 15th, and may extend it further if needed. The recent court case involved Krafton firing its co-founders because they wanted to launch Subnautica 2 in early access before it was fully prepared. However, Krafton later claimed the co-founders had neglected Unknown Worlds by focusing on other projects and even falsely accused them of data theft.

Okay, so I’ve been following this whole Krafton situation, and it’s getting messy. Basically, according to court papers Kotaku reported on, Krafton’s reasons for firing these two employees, Cleveland and McGuire, don’t really hold up. Apparently, Krafton knew they weren’t doing a ton of work for a while and were okay with it. And about the data they downloaded? The employees claim they were actually protecting the studio’s work during Krafton’s attempt to take over. They say they kept everything safe and gave the data back right away. It sounds like Krafton is just using that download as an excuse to get rid of them, honestly.

The final payment to Unknown Worlds depends heavily on their revenue. If they earn over $69.8 million, Krafton will pay $3.12 for every additional dollar earned, but this extra payment is limited to a maximum of $250 million.

If the game launched by the end of 2025 and sold over 1.67 million copies across all versions, the studio would receive $191.8 million – though they could have earned as much as $242.2 million in the most optimistic scenario. According to the judge’s report, this caught the attention of Krafton CEO Changhan Kim. Kim, who oversaw the purchase of the studio, believed Krafton had paid too much and worried that making the full payout would make him appear weak.

That’s when they started “Project X,” an effort to get rid of the three individuals, even seeking advice from ChatGPT. Surprisingly, ChatGPT itself suggested it would be hard to void the earnout agreement.

This is just the first step in the legal process, as the court hasn’t decided how much money, if any, will be awarded. In a statement to Kotaku, Krafton said they disagree with the ruling but are prioritizing getting the updated version of Subnautica 2 to players quickly.

As a gamer, it’s awesome to hear that Krafton really puts us first in everything they do, and they say that’ll always be the case. The team at both Krafton and Unknown Worlds have been working super hard for months to make the game even better and get it ready for Early Access. They’re focused on making sure it’s a great experience for the Subnautica community, and I can’t wait to jump in and try the updated version as soon as it’s released!

We disagree with the court’s decision today, but we’re considering our next steps. The ruling doesn’t settle the claims made by the former executives regarding money they’re owed from Subnautica 2, and the legal process is still ongoing. Our priority remains delivering a great game to Subnautica fans.

Currently, the developers are aiming to release Subnautica 2 in 2026 on Xbox Series X/S and PC. Players will be able to access it through the Game Preview program on Xbox, and it will be included with Game Pass from day one.

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2026-03-16 21:14