Publisher Krafton has reportedly agreed to pay the full $250 million earnout to the developers at Unknown Worlds Entertainment, following the enormous commercial success of Subnautica 2’s early access debut. The underwater survival game has sold over 4 million copies since launching on May 14, generating more than $100 million in revenue within its first week alone and becoming 2026’s fastest-selling title on Steam, according to IGN.
The payment was far from a foregone conclusion. The earnout became the centerpiece of one of the gaming industry’s most dramatic legal battles after Krafton fired Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill and other senior leaders in the summer of 2025. The ousted executives filed a lawsuit alleging they had been removed specifically so Krafton could avoid triggering the performance-based bonus, which was structured to pay $3.12 for every dollar of revenue once the studio exceeded $69.8 million per month. Krafton countered that the fired staff were seeking a payout they had not earned and accused them of stealing internal documents ahead of the litigation, as reported by Rock Paper Shotgun.
The dispute took a remarkable turn in March when a Delaware court ordered Gill’s reinstatement and directed that the $250 million bonus be honored. Court documents revealed that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had viewed the earnout arrangement as a “bad deal” and even turned to ChatGPT for advice on how to circumvent the payment — despite warnings from his own legal team that dismissing the Unknown Worlds leadership would not void the obligation and would expose the company to significant legal and reputational risk.
With Gill back at the helm, Subnautica 2 launched into early access and immediately shattered expectations. The game reached a peak of more than 467,000 concurrent players on Steam, and South Korean business outlet The Korea Economic Daily reported on May 27 that Krafton has now formally agreed to pay the bonus. The $250 million figure represents roughly 35 percent of Krafton’s total operating profit from the previous year, making it a substantial financial event for the South Korean gaming conglomerate, as noted by Eurogamer.
Beyond Steam, where the game currently maintains around 60,000 daily players, Subnautica 2 also attracted 2.4 million players through Xbox Game Pass during its opening week, though direct Xbox sales remained under 100,000 units. Early critical reception has been largely positive, though some reviewers have noted that the new cooperative multiplayer mode can feel like an awkward fit alongside the game’s narrative-driven solo design — an area that could evolve before the full 1.0 release.
The resolution of the earnout saga closes one of the most contentious chapters in recent gaming industry history, one that laid bare the tensions between corporate cost-cutting and the contractual obligations owed to the creative teams behind hit franchises. For Unknown Worlds, the outcome is a vindication; for Krafton, it is an expensive reminder that a deal is a deal — even when a game sells far better than anyone anticipated.