Subnautica 2 legal battle ends with reinstated CEO stepping down, as Krafton and Unknown Worlds founders agree settlement

So long, and thanks for all the fish

Shake hands with the nearest underwater critter. The Subnautica 2 legal dispute appears to finally have reached its ultimate conclusion, with a settlement agreed between publishers Krafton and the three Unknown Worlds leaders they fired last year. One of those three leads, Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, was reinstated to his post via a judge's orders in March. So, naturally, now the settlement's been reached, he's stepping down voluntarily.

Bloomberg (paywalled, via Game Developer) broke the news of the settlement, which has reportedly seen the two sides dismiss their Lionel Hutzes and Krafton agree to pay bonuses to Subnautica 2's developers.

According to Gill, Subnautica 2's devs will be "compensated significantly more" than originally outlined in Krafton's agreement the acquire the studio. Originally, Gill, fellow Unknown Worlds founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and staff who were working at the studio when it was bought in 2021 were slated to get bonuses. Now, Gill says that's been extended to include staff who've joined more recently, with the studio's workers set to receive "further incentives" as Subnautica 2's early access updates continue to arrive.

With that, Gill's decided his planet needs him. The fired and then reinstated boss has voluntarily deinstated himself, declaring that "new leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward". To be fair, you can very much understand both him and Krafton deciding not to continue working together now everything's settled and Sub 2 is out in early access, given the events of the past year.

Gill told Bloomberg a new boss from outside both Krafton and Unknown Worlds will be sought to replace him. May I reccomend the Collector Leviathan? Things likely wouldn't get any weirder or more chaotic than they have been throughout the legal battle under his watchful Cephalopod gaze. Plus, he probably doesn't know what ChatGPT is.

In a statement sent to Game Developer, Krafton made clear that Unknown Worlds will continue to lead development on Subnautica 2, the publishers are set to provide rather more nebulous support "for the success of the game". That sounds to me like they'll be tasked with cheering enthusiastically whenever a Sub 2 newbie suffers their first death to a big underwater beastie.

If there aren't any more twists in your tail, I'll kinda miss you, Subnautica 2 legal dispute. Lord knows you were a story.