One of this year's most-anticipated upcoming games is Subnautica 2, a long-awaited sequel to Unknown Worlds Entertainment's first highly popular underwater exploration game. Originally, it was slated to release on Xbox and PC in Early Access later in 2025 with a day one appearance on Xbox Game Pass. However, that launch has reportedly now been delayed into 2026 by publisher Krafton — months before it had plans to pay the developers a large $250 million bonus.
The news comes from a report from Bloomberg in which sources "familiar with the company's [Krafton's] plans" told the outlet the game's release has been pushed back; notably, it was said that the decision to delay the title's Early Access launch was one former Unknown Worlds leadership disagreed with.
Something significant to note is that Krafton announced it had replaced Unknown Worlds' leadership just last week, with founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire and CEO Ted Gill succeeded by Steve Papoutsis, CEO of Striking Distance Studios (The Callisto Protocol), "effective immediately."
"There is nothing more important than the gamer experience. Given the anticipation around Subnautica 2, we owe our players nothing less than the best possible game, as soon as possible,” said Krafton CEO Changhan Kim in the press release. A reason for the changing of the guard wasn't given.
The aforementioned $250 million bonus was set to be paid to Unknown Worlds developers if Subnautica 2 hit certain revenue goals by the end of 2025 following its Early Access release. Reportedly, its sum would have been shared with all of the studio's 100 or so employees, with staff told they could expect payouts ranging from six to seven figures.
Developers speaking to Bloomberg, however, say that with the game's launch now pushed to next year, reaching those sales goals now seems effectively impossible, potentially meaning that the offer of the bonus has been taken off the table before Subnautica 2's release.
When asked by Unknown Worlds developers if Krafton delayed the game to avoid paying the bonus in a town hall meeting earlier this week, Papoutsis said “it’s a good question, and I would appreciate patience on this particular topic,” before going on to add that more details were "beyond my current understanding at the moment."
In Papoutsis' view, Subnautica 2 isn't ready for Early Access and needs more content. But Unknown Worlds' former leadership feel differently, as founder Charlie Cleveland writes: "So you can see why ... the events of this week have been quite a shock. We know that the game is ready for early access release and we know you’re ready to play it. And while we thought this was going to be our decision to make, at least for now, that decision is in Krafton’s hands. And after all these years, to find that I’m no longer able to work at the company I started stings."
Papoutsis, though, says that it's not the "very best" it could be, hence the postponement. "The desire of Krafton is to have the very best version of Subnautica 2 available for its Early Access,” he explained during the town hall. “While yes, the software that everybody worked on is in a great spot and it felt like, ‘Hey we should launch this,’ that wasn’t where both parties aligned around. It’s never been told to me that we’re making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that.”
An important delay, or an upsetting betrayal?
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Ultimately, it seems that Krafton's decision to delay Subnautica 2 either stems from a genuine desire to ensure the game enters Early Access in the best state possible, or is an attempt by the publisher to dodge having to pay Unknown Worlds Entertainment its offered $250 million bonus.
I'd like to give the company the benefit of the doubt — especially after it saved Tango Gameworks from closure by Microsoft with an acquisition last year — but it's impossible to say for sure what the publisher's motivation was. Some might argue the leadership change occurring just before the delay is suspicious, though it can also simply be read as Krafton appointing someone better aligned with its Early Access release philosophy.
Something I will say, though, is I find the desire to perfect Subnautica 2's Early Access version before launch a bit odd. The strength of Early Access is that it allows developers to build their games with continuous player feedback helping to guide them; therefore, it's normal and expected for there to be rough edges and unfinished elements. But perhaps the version of Subnautica 2 Early Access former Unknown Worlds executives would have launched was simply too barebones?
Again, it's impossible to say without more details, but regardless, I really hope Krafton's offer for a bonus payout is extended into 2026. If it's not, it would come off as an unfair punishment for developers that did absolutely nothing wrong.
