{"id":295,"date":"2025-07-10T13:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/premiererealtymarketers.com\/?p=295"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T14:42:55","slug":"subnautica-2-delayed-so-publisher-can-avoid-paying-devs-a-bonus-claims-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/premiererealtymarketers.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/subnautica-2-delayed-so-publisher-can-avoid-paying-devs-a-bonus-claims-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Subnautica 2 delayed so publisher can avoid paying devs a bonus claims report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Subnautica\t<\/div>
Subnautica 2 – that’s a hefty bonus that’s on the line (Krafton)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A surprise change in leadership and a delay in its release date now haunt Subnautica 2.<\/p>\n

The most wishlisted Steam game right now is, unsurprisingly, the ever-elusive Hollow Knight: Silksong. In second place, however, is not something super mainstream like Resident Evil Requiem<\/a> or Borderlands 4<\/a>, but underwater survival game Subnautica 2.<\/p>\n

Clearly, the Steam community really enjoyed the original Subnautica from 2018<\/a> (as did we) and is very excited for its sequel. Much like the first game, developer Unknown Worlds intended to launch Subnautica 2 in early access, with a 2025 date confirmed at an Xbox event<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n

However, publisher Krafton (the South Korean company best known for battle royale PUBG Battlegrounds) has opted to push the game into 2026 and while it says this is because it needs extra development time, the company has been accused of having ulterior motives that involve avoiding paying bonuses to Subnautica 2\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n

It has been an incredibly hectic couple of weeks for Unknown Worlds, which Krafton acquired in 2021, a few months after the release of spin-off game Subnautica: Below Zero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last week, out of nowhere, Krafton announced it had replaced Unknown Worlds\u2019 leadership team – including Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland – with Steve Papoutsis taking over as the new CEO while still maintaining his position as CEO of The Callisto Protocol<\/a> developer Striking Distance Studios.<\/p>\n

No real reason was given for the sudden change in leadership, with Krafton only saying it was for the sake of \u2018delivering the best possible game for the Subnautica community.\u2019<\/p>\n

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This is also why Subnautica 2\u2019s early access launch is being delayed to 2026; a decision that was made shortly after the leadership change, according to a Bloomberg report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet according to a lengthy Reddit post<\/a> by Cleveland (who described his removal from Unknown Worlds as \u2018quite a shock\u2019), Subnautica 2 is \u2018ready for early access release,\u2019 implying there\u2019s no need for a delay.<\/p>\n

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