After entering early access on May 14, Subnautica 2 has performed exceptionally well: it sold over 1 million copies on day one, surpassed 2 million in 12 hours, hit 4 million in five days, and peaked at around 467,000 concurrent players on Steam—making it the fastest-selling game on Steam in 2026. According to South Korea’s Korea Economic Daily, based on first-month revenue easily exceeding the $69.8 million threshold, Krafton must pay Unknown Worlds’ former shareholders $3.12 for every $1 in revenue, according to the bonus clause in the 2021 acquisition contract, with a cap of $250 million (roughly 35% of Krafton’s total operating profit last year). Krafton has agreed to pay. This outcome is quite dramatic: according to a March 2026 report by 404 Media, before Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han wrongfully fired Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill and the two co-founders in July 2025, he bypassed the company’s legal department and turned to ChatGPT for advice on how to avoid paying bonuses. The related ChatGPT conversation logs were exposed in court documents during the subsequent lawsuit; the judge criticized the lack of legitimate grounds for dismissal, ordered Krafton to reinstate Gill in March 2026, and extended the bonus deadline to September 15, 2026.
On the gameplay front, Subnautica 2 introduces a new alien ocean planet called Zazura, four-player co-op, tadpole vehicles, and a revamped base-building system. Unknown Worlds’ leadership previously promised that the bonuses would be shared among all roughly 100 employees, with some employees who joined at the time of the acquisition expected to receive distributions ranging from hundreds of thousands to seven-figure dollars. This case has been called one of the most dramatic legal rulings in the gaming industry in recent years, and serves as a rare cautionary tale of “using AI to plan a breach of contract.”