Subnautica 2 is set to launch on May 14, despite layoffs, a lawsuit, and advice from ChatGPT. The story of the most absurd corporate scandal in the gaming industry

The most anticipated game on Steam is launching in Early Access in two days. Subnautica 2—the sequel to one of the most popular survival games in history—has finally made it to release, but the road to getting there was so absurd that it deserves its own retelling. Because this is the story of how a corporate CEO asked ChatGPT if he could avoid paying the developers $250 million—and what came of it.

When South Korean corporation Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds—the developers of Subnautica—the deal included a bonus: if Subnautica 2 reaches certain sales targets, the studio’s management would receive up to $250 million. A portion of that money was earmarked for rank-and-file employees. The problem is that the game became the most added title to Steam wishlists, and it became clear that the company would have to pay up.

In July 2025, Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill and studio founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire were suddenly fired. Krafton stated that management had planned to release Subnautica 2 prematurely, and that the game was so unpolished that its release would have caused “irreparable harm to the entire franchise.” It sounded strange: just a month earlier, the studio had been preparing a cover for PC Gamer magazine—and suddenly the game was deemed “unreleasable.”

The laid-off employees filed a lawsuit—and that’s when the revelations began. It turned out that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had consulted ChatGPT before the layoffs about how to get out of a bonus agreement. It was apparently at that very moment that the infamous "make sure there's nothing incriminating left". Krafton initially denied this, but Kim admitted in court that he used the chatbot “for quick answers.” In correspondence with Krafton’s head of corporate development, he relayed ChatGPT’s response: terminating the bonus agreement would be “difficult.”

Krafton, meanwhile, changed its story: now the issue was not the quality of the game, but the fact that the dismissed executives had allegedly “walked out” and taken confidential data with them. The court found that Krafton had been aware of and had accepted Cleveland and McGuire’s limited involvement in the studio’s operations in advance. And the data copying occurred after their dismissal—the executives were trying to preserve the studio’s work. As Judge Lori Will noted, a person cannot be fired “for violations” that occurred after their dismissal.

In the end, Subnautica 2 scandal resolved: court orders Krafton to reinstate fired developers and extend the term of the bonus agreement by nine months. Krafton complied with the order, though it expressed its disagreement. But even after that, the story didn’t end: New controversy erupts around Subnautica 2—this time over the early access release date. Krafton announced it before Gill had a chance to return to running the studio, and he publicly stated that he learned of the date from the news and “isn’t particularly happy about it.”

It is worth noting that Subnautica 2 under threat: Krafton ceased to be the publisher of the game after the trial and scandal—its name has disappeared from the Steam page, although Unknown Worlds remains a subsidiary of the corporation. A Krafton spokesperson confirmed to PC Gamer that the company “supports the early access launch.”

Now the big question is whether the game will live up to expectations. The sequel takes the action to a new planet featuring an open ocean, underwater biomes, and unknown creatures. Early access is expected to last two to three years, after which the studio plans to release a full version with additional biomes, creatures, crafting, and a story.

Subnautica 2 will be released in Early Access on May 14, 2026, for PC (Steam). The Standard Edition is available for purchase on the store page.