Krafton has postponed the release of Subnautica 2 to 2026

Release of Subnautica 2 has been postponed to the following year by Unknown Worlds, aiming to provide additional time for the development team to integrate community suggestions.

According to an article from Eurogamer, the parent company Krafton emphasized that this choice was made independently of recent leadership transitions.

Krafton highlighted that their decision was "driven solely by [its] dedication to excellence and delivering the best player experience" and was not motivated by any "contractual or financial reasons".

This announcement followed Bloomberg's inspection of a purchase contract which reportedly mentioned a $250 million bonus planned if specific revenue goals were achieved by the year's end.

Insiders additionally informed the publication that the previous leadership intended to distribute the extra earnings across the studio's employees.

It has been reported that employees present during Krafton's acquisition were informed of potential bonuses ranging from thousands to millions of dollars.

Steve Papoutsis, the incoming CEO of Unknown Worlds, spoke on these matters in a company meeting, as noted by Bloomberg.

Papoutsis remarked, "Krafton's intention is to launch the very finest version of Subnautica 2 in early access. Although the software was in a robust state, both sides weren't mutually aligned on its launch."

Regarding the purchase agreement, Papoutsis stated he was unaware of the contract's details and noted it was "never communicated to me that we're making these changes to influence any earnout."

This week, former Unknown Worlds creative director and co-founder Charlie Cleveland expressed being taken aback by his unexpected departure from the company.

Cleveland mentioned, "After all these years, to realize I can no longer contribute to the company I helped build really stings." His exit coincided with CEO Ted Gill and CTO and co-founder Max McGuire.

He further remarked that Subnautica 2 seemed "prepared for an early access launch" and had believed releasing the game would be the team’s decision, but now "that call rests with Krafton".