'Subnautica 2' Success: Will Krafton Reduce Its Reliance on 'PUBG' as Lawsuit Remains a Variable?

Performance Bonus Lawsuit with Unknown Worlds Ongoing

Krafton's new release, 'Subnautica 2', has achieved early commercial success, further strengthening its mid- to long-term strategy of securing major franchise intellectual property (IP). However, with an ongoing lawsuit over performance bonuses with the developer Unknown Worlds, attention is focused on how the game's popularity may impact the legal proceedings.

Subnautica 2. Provided by Krafton

According to Krafton on the 19th, 'Subnautica 2' sold over 2 million copies within 12 hours of its early access release on May 15. It maintained the number one spot in global sales on Steam for three consecutive days and reached a peak of 467,000 concurrent users. When combining Epic Games Store and Xbox platforms, the maximum concurrent user count soared to 651,000.

'Subnautica 2' is the official sequel to the 'Subnautica' series, which pioneered the ocean survival adventure genre. Set on an alien planet, the game vividly brings an unknown ecosystem to life with Unreal Engine 5-based graphics. For the first time in the series, it also introduces a cooperative mode for up to four players.

The official launch is set for two years from now, but if the game maintains long-term popularity, it is expected to reduce Krafton's dependence on 'PUBG: Battlegrounds'. An industry insider commented, "Given the position and profitability of 'PUBG', it may not be fully replaceable, but I think it's possible to call it a 'second PUBG'."

However, the success of Subnautica 2 is expected to be a variable in the lawsuit with Unknown Worlds. Unknown Worlds is a development subsidiary that Krafton acquired in October 2021 for $500 million (about 600 billion won). Krafton also agreed to pay the founders up to an additional $250 million (about 340 billion won) in performance bonuses based on future results.

The conflict arose when the development of the new title was delayed. In July last year, Krafton postponed the launch of the new game and abruptly dismissed three executives from Unknown Worlds' management. The three affected individuals filed a lawsuit claiming unfair dismissal, and the court ruled in their favor. In March this year, the Delaware Court of Chancery in the United States ordered the reinstatement of CEO Ted Gill and extended the deadline for performance bonus payments to September 15. Krafton is preparing to appeal the decision.

This pertains to the restoration of management rights (phase one judgment), while the key issues of performance bonus payments and damages (phase two judgment) have yet to be addressed. Since the success of 'Subnautica 2' occurred after the reinstatement of one former executive and the restoration of release authority, there is a higher possibility that the outcome will favor Unknown Worlds. Moreover, the court determined that Krafton dismissed the executives to avoid paying performance bonuses, and with the game's success fulfilling the conditions for payment, the amount Krafton may be required to pay in compensation could increase.

Krafton stated, "Both companies worked hard for the release and success of 'Subnautica 2', and it seems users had high expectations as well," but declined to comment in detail regarding the lawsuit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.