Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report
The most wishlisted Steam game right now is, unsurprisingly, the ever-elusive Hollow Knight: Silksong. In second place, however, is not something super mainstream like Resident Evil Requiem or Borderlands 4, but underwater survival game Subnautica 2.
Clearly, the Steam community really enjoyed the original Subnautica from 2018 (as did we) and is very excited for its sequel. Much like the first game, developer Unknown Worlds intended to launch Subnautica 2 in early access, with a 2025 date confirmed at an Xbox event last year.
However, publisher Krafton (the South Korean company best known for battle royale PUBG Battlegrounds) has opted to push the game into 2026 and while it says this is because it needs extra development time, the company has been accused of having ulterior motives that involve avoiding paying bonuses to Subnautica 2's staff.
It has been an incredibly hectic couple of weeks for Unknown Worlds, which Krafton acquired in 2021, a few months after the release of spin-off game Subnautica: Below Zero.
Last week, out of nowhere, Krafton announced it had replaced Unknown Worlds' leadership team – including Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland – with Steve Papoutsis taking over as the new CEO while still maintaining his position as CEO of The Callisto Protocol developer Striking Distance Studios.
No real reason was given for the sudden change in leadership, with Krafton only saying it was for the sake of 'delivering the best possible game for the Subnautica community.'
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
This is also why Subnautica 2's early access launch is being delayed to 2026; a decision that was made shortly after the leadership change, according to a Bloomberg report.
Yet according to a lengthy Reddit post by Cleveland (who described his removal from Unknown Worlds as 'quite a shock'), Subnautica 2 is 'ready for early access release,' implying there's no need for a delay.
According to Bloomberg, Krafton's decision also happens to come a few months before it was meant to pay Unknown Worlds' staff a $250 million (£184 million) bonus.
When Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds, its purchase agreement stated this bonus would be awarded if the studio met certain revenue targets by the end of 2025.
If Unknown Worlds managed to achieve this, the plan was for the bonus to be shared among all 100 members of the studio, with Bloomberg's sources claiming staff were eligible for bonuses for upwards of seven figures.
With Subnautica 2's early access launch delayed, however, it's far less likely that Unknown Worlds will reach those revenue targets, which according to Bloomberg has prompted allegations that the delay is an effort by Krafton to get out of paying staff the extra $250 million. More Trending
Bloomberg adds that staff questioned Papoutsis about this during a company town hall meeting. Papoutsis said: 'It's never been told to me that we're making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that,' insisting Krafton simply didn't think Subnautica 2 was ready to launch this year.
In a separate statement, Krafton itself has denied any such allegations, saying the decision 'was not influenced by any contractual or financial considerations.'
Even so, fan response has been negative. Top posts on the Subnautica subreddit are overwhelmingly critical of Krafton, with some asking fellow fans that they remove Subnautica 2 from their wishlist and refuse to buy the game once it launches.
A new gameplay trailer that dropped last night is also inundated with demands that Krafton give Unknown Worlds' staff their bonuses, although its like/dislike ratio is favourable, with 55,000 likes compared to 6,300 dislikes.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
MORE: Hi-Fi Rush 2 looks likely as former Xbox studio Tango Gameworks is revived by Krafton
MORE: The Sims clone inZOI is set to be the surprise hit of 2025
MORE: The Callisto Protocol was released too early and content was cut says director
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Coin Geek
3 days ago
- Coin Geek
Ghana plans new framework to regulate digital assets
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Ghana is developing a new regulatory framework for the digital asset sector as adoption in cross-border transfers and speculative trading surges. The Bank of Ghana is finalizing the new policy proposal and will submit it to parliament by the end of August, Governor Johnson Asiama told Bloomberg on July 24. It includes a new licensing policy for VASPs and taxation measures for one of the continent's fastest-growing digital asset markets. Asiama says the new framework will enable Ghana to capitalize on digital assets to boost the economy, boost cross-border transfers, and allow authorities to collect financial data. Additionally, it will boost the funding opportunities for local companies, allowing them to attract strategic investment from investors in Africa and beyond. In 2024, African blockchain startups raised $123 million, a report by CV VC revealed. Their share of the venture capital deals nearly doubled to 13%, outperforming other sectors like finance and tech. Ghana is 'late in the game,' says Asiama, noting that millions of Ghanaians have already been using digital assets in speculative trading and cross-border transfers. However, due to a lack of oversight, this volume isn't captured on the country's financial accounts. Left unchecked, the sector could have far-reaching implications on the local currency, he added. In neighboring Nigeria, digital assets have been blamed for the naira's depreciation over the past three years. The government cracked down on the sector for allegedly allowing Nigerians to bypass formal channels and acquire USD-pegged stablecoins at black market rates. The crackdown culminated in the shutdown of offshore exchanges and an $81.5 billion lawsuit against Binance for allegedly orchestrating a 'sophisticated heist' against the Nigerian economy. But while the naira has lost over 70% of its value in the past three years, Ghana's cedi has been on an uptrend, gaining nearly 50% in the past year, which was the best performance globally. According to one report, over 3 million Ghanaians own digital assets, translating to over 17% of the adult population. This ranks the country higher than Singapore, the U.S., Germany, the U.K., and Japan for adoption. The report further revealed that in the year ending June 2024, Ghanaians transacted over $3 billion. 'We do recognize that there's some activity happening. Our goal for this whole process is to put safeguards and rails around it,' commented Kwame Oppong, the central bank's head of fintech and innovation. Ghana is following the growing list of African countries making strides in digital currency regulation. In Kenya, lawmakers are debating the VASP Bill, which would be the most comprehensive framework for digital assets in the region, and have already approved five joint watchdogs for the industry. Nigerian president Bola Tinubu signed a bill in April that recognizes digital assets as law, and it's already attracting global players. Watch: Tech redefines how things are done—Africa is here for it title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""> Africa Bank of Ghana Ghana Johnson Asiama Kwame Oppong Regulation
Reuters
7 days ago
- Reuters
KKR in talks to buy ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, Bloomberg News reports
July 26 (Reuters) - KKR (KKR.N), opens new tab is in talks to buy ST Telemedia Global Data Centres in a deal that could value the Asian digital infrastructure provider at more than $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Daily Mail
24-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Amazon dethroned by bitter rival in deals war as Prime Day is a bust
Amazon's Prime Day has been knocked off its perch by Walmart's rival deal event — and it was all down to a change that backfired. Once the biggest online shopping bonanza of the year, Prime Day's dominance is faltering. Both retail giants launched their summer sales on July 8 — Amazon for four days and Walmart for almost a week. That meant this year's Prime Day was double the length it had been since 2018. When the event began in 2015, it lasted just one day. Amazon bosses hoped the extra time would boost spending, but it instead encouraged shoppers to compare deals — and many opted for Walmart. Walmart outperformed Amazon across several key metrics. Spending on soared 24 percent compared to 2024, Bloomberg data shows — six times faster than Prime Day's year‑over‑year growth. Web traffic told a similar story, with Walmart surging 14 percent while Amazon stayed flat, according to Similarweb. 'Shoppers are more willing to do the work and navigate across multiple websites,' Deborah Weinswig, CEO of Coresight Research told Bloomberg. 'We saw people spending a lot more time browsing and comparing prices.' A spokesperson for Amazon said the data did not reflect the 'highly positive customer response to this year's Prime Day,' arguing that the event still saw meaningful growth. Amazon remains the undisputed king of ecommerce, capturing around 40 cents of every dollar spent online, according to Emarketer. However, Walmart — the US's largest private employer — is ploughing investment into its online units. The Arkansas-based retailer has pumped resources into improving delivery speeds and has built up its online inventory to more than 500 million items. As a result, Walmart's online sales are climbing 20 percent a year, adding intense pressure on Amazon. The event was such a success that its competitors began to follow suit with their own summer deals. Now retail traffic after the July 4 public holiday has started to outdo the traditional Black Friday sales period in November. Walmart launched its Walmart + subscription in 2020, offering unlimited free deliveries for $98 per year. The membership also offers deals on gas and free grocery deliveries over $35. Amazon's own Prime subscription is expected to soon rise by $20 to $159 a year, experts have warned.
