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Krafton Reportedly Delayed Subnautica 2 Right Before It Was Due To Pay Unknown Worlds Staff $250 Million

By 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Joshua Robertson

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Earlier this week, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton sent the entire project into a tailspin by removing the co-founders🌳 of developer Unknown Worlds. Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire were all replaced by Striking Distance Studios CEO Steve Papoutsis, though Krafton did explain it had "sought to keep" all three on ꦅboard.

"I'm going to wait to find out if I should be mad": Subnautica 2 players are calling to boycott over recent changes, but not everyone is convinced

"I'll need a lot more confirmed information before I boycott🌼 the sequel to my favorite game of all time."

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At the time, Kra༺fton tried to ease the worries of longtime fans by explaining that nothing in the game would change due to the removal of Gill, Cleveland, and McGuire, but that would soon change. Earlier today, Krafton released a statement to Kotaku, claiming that "some adjustments to the schedule may be required" due to the leadership changes, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:strongly suggesting an incoming delay.

One of the bi﷽ggest mysteries around this entire situation is why all three of Unknown Worlds' co-founders were🐻 ousted. We haven't had an official answer from either side just yet, but may have shed some light on the situation.

Subnautica 2 Reportedly Delayed To Avoid $250 Million Bonus Payout

A player underwater looking at fish in Subnautica 2.

According to Schreier𓆏, Krafton has already delayed Subnautica 2 into 2026, despite objections from Unknown Worlds' former leadership team. It's claimed that the delay has come just a few months before Krafton was due to pay the studio a $250 million bonus, which would have kicked in if Unknown Worlds managed to hit a certain revenue target by the end of 2025, as stipulated by an agreement when Krafton purchased the developer in 2021.

It's also claimed that Unknown Worlds' former leadership was planning to split this $250 million bonus between the entire development team, which is made up of around 100 people. Now that༺ Subnautica 2 has been internally delayed to 2026, Unknown Worlds is extremely unlikely to meet the revenue target for the bonus, thus depriving around 100 people of potentially seven-figure-sum bonuses.

Whether Subnautica 2 needs a delay is also up for debate. Last week, Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland posted a heartfelt Reddit post on the Subnautica subreddit, claiming that the game is "ready for ea💛rly access release", suggesting that this incoming bonus was more of a reason for🎃 the delay than anything game-related.