Krafton settles with Subnautica 2 developer after drawn-out dispute over $250 million

After a lengthy legal dispute, Krafton has settled with its subsidiary Unknown Worlds Entertainment, which is developing Subnautica 2, and will pay bonuses to the studio’s staff, Bloomberg reports.

The dispute began last year after Krafton pushed out Unknown Worlds’ cofounders, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and its CEO, Ted Gill, ahead of a potential $250 million bonus for hitting certain financial goals that would have been shared with the studio. After the executives sued, a judge reinstated Gill as CEO in March, and Subnautica 2 finally launched in early access in May. The game passed four million copies sold in five days.

Details of the settlement haven’t been disclosed. “Krafton, Inc., Unknown Worlds Entertainment, and Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire have reached a mutual settlement and agreed to dismiss all pending legal proceedings,” Krafton said in a statement to Game Developer.

Bonuses will be paid to all Unknown Worlds staffers instead of only those who were there when Krafton acquired the studio in 2021, and they’ll be paid out in three yearly installments, according to Bloomberg. However, Gill will be leaving the studio. “We mutually agreed to part ways,” Gill tells Bloomberg. “New leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward.”

Krafton didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge.