The crazy launch of Subnautica 2 forced Krafton to fork out — the Korean publisher will pay a substantial bonus of up to $ 250 million (about 20 billion rubles) to the developers of underwater survival from Unknown Worlds. The game isn’t even in full release yet, and it’s already breaking Steam records for 2026, thus ending the long-running legal drama between the authors and the parent corporation.
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How did Subnautica 2 sales stop the corporate war?
For many months, the developers and the publisher, let’s just say, did not get along. If you remember, Unknown Worlds’ lawyers directly accused the Krafton bosses of deliberately delaying the release, and they responded by nodding at the “abandoned project.” It’s a dirty story. But the winners are not judged — the studio’s CEO was eventually reinstated, and the phenomenal early access box office finally put everything in its place. A well-deserved earnout is guaranteed to reach the authors.
Terms of the deal: where did the $250 million come from
The details of the financial truce were unearthed by journalists from the Korean Economic Daily (IGN confirmed the insiders a little later). Judging by the leaks, the payment scheme was laid down when the American studio was bought in 2021. The conditions are tough, but understandable: the South Korean giant allocates $3.12 to the former shareholders of Unknown Worlds for every $1 earned, up to a ceiling of $250 million. The trigger for such generous bonuses is the monthly revenue target of $69.8 million. By the way, the total amount of compensation is as much as 35% of the total operating profit of Krafton last year.
High Scores on Steam and the future of Early Access
The numbers speak for themselves: 1 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours alone. Peak online also flew into space, stopping around the 500,000 simultaneous divers mark. At the moment, the total circulation has exceeded 4 million copies. Analysts from Alinea Analytics estimated that in just one week, the hit generated $100 million (about 8 billion rubles), an absolute record for sales speed on Valve’s site in 2026.
What’s next? The developers have already released a roadmap, so fans won’t be hungry for content. The plans for the early access period include three focus areas: improving the cooperative mode, completely new biomes, additional transport, and plot development.
