The most anticipated open-world survival game has reportedly been delayed. They said it was “ready,” but now Subnautica 2 looks certain to miss its 2025 launch. Developers at Unknown Worlds believe Krafton is intentionally stalling to avoid paying the bonus.

Developers at Unknown Worlds claim that Subnautica 2 has been delayed. The game was originally scheduled for early access this year, but changes at the Krafton-owned studio have reportedly shifted the timeline. According to internal sources, the open-world survival title is now not expected until 2026 at the earliest.

For the context: Krafton abruptly fired the original creators of Subnautica—Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire. In an open letter, developers told the community that the move “came as a shock” and the game was “ready” for Early Access. The South Korean conglomerate attempted to calm the situation by telling Kotaku that the team was “refining development plans” and that the schedule required “some adjustments.”

Now, according to Bloomberg, this has resulted in a real delay for Subnautica 2. Anonymous developers say Krafton has pushed the release to 2026. While some might think the extra time is for polish, Unknown Worlds team members believe it’s really a ploy to avoid paying out the bonus.

Delayed to Avoid Paying $250 Million?

Bloomberg reports that the original Subnautica creators were against the sequel’s delay. Krafton had promised a $250 million bonus to Unknown Worlds if certain revenue targets were met by the end of 2025. With the launch now pushed to 2026, the team believes they will lose this bonus. Bloomberg confirmed this detail from a contract signed between Krafton and Unknown Worlds when the studio was bought in 2021.

Developers say the original leadership planned to share the $250 million among all employees, with bonuses ranging from hundreds of thousands to seven figures for those present at the acquisition.

Facing the loss of this huge bonus, Unknown Worlds staff raised the issue with new boss Steve Papoutsis (who replaced the original IP creators). Asked if the delay was to avoid the $250 million payout, Papoutsis replied: “The details of this deal are beyond my current understanding at this time.” In a Bloomberg-recorded meeting, he said: “Krafton’s desire is to have the best version of Subnautica 2 available for early access.” He added: “While it’s true that everyone worked on great software and we thought, ‘We should release it,’ that’s not how both parties agreed.” He finished: “No one ever told me that we were making this change specifically to impact a bonus or anything like that.”

Source: 3djuegos