Bad news for the players who were waiting for Subnautica 2: the game is finally postponed to 2026 by Krafton, who is suspected of embezzlement by some of the studio employees.
In recent days will have decidedly been a real emotional elevator for fans of Subnautica. Indeed, while a change of direction unexpected was recently announced at Unknown Worlds, part of the players feared that this did not have a negative impact on the development of Subnautica 2. The studio quickly spoke to reassure its community, saying that the project was caving. What he did not know, however, is that the game will not finally arrive on the scheduled date.
Subnautica 2 rests its exit to
While the launch of its early access was initially expected during the year 2025, it appears that it will not arrive before 2026. “The South Korean video game publisher Krafton Inc. delays the release of the highly anticipated survival game Subnautica 2, only a few months before the expected payment of a $ 250 million bonus for the development team”we learn from journalist Jason Schreier, in a report published in the columns of Bloomberg.
According to his sources, which naturally wanted to remain anonymous, the decision of this postponement was made last week. It is shortly after Krafton decided to return Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire from the management of Unknown Worlds. “This decision was not influenced by contractual or financial considerations”said the publisher. Krafton says that this is mainly aims to allow teams to improve the quality of Subnautica 2 following returns from the first tests.
But to believe the sources of Schreier, reality would be quite different. “The delay in the suite was against the wishes of the former studio management” reveals the journalist. “The $ 250 million bonus was to be paid if Unknown Worlds achieved certain income targets before the end of the year. […] By delaying Subnautica 2 see you next year, the company will probably not reach these objectives and employees may therefore not be eligible for the premium ”he said then.
An internal complicated situation
For studio employees, the postponement of Subnautica 2 is all the more surprising since according to Cleveland, the game was however “Ready for its launch in early access”. During a recent public meeting, Steve Papoutsis, the newcomer to the head of Unknown Worlds, however said that Krafton did not believe it. This is why the game would therefore have been postponed to 2026. This would allow teams to integrate more content before launch.
Suffice to say that if all this is true, this new situation may nevertheless throw a sacred cold within the team of Subnautica 2. all the more since as Schreier stipulates the leaders of Unknown Worlds had planned to share the additional money with all the employees. Krafton then said they could claim bonuses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Source : Bloomberg
