Following a year of acrimonious legal tussling and a settlement agreeing to pay bonuses to Unknown Worlds developers, Krafton has now pledged to turn the Subnautica series into a “franchise IP” amid confirmation Subnautica 2 has surpassed 5m sales.
Krafton shared the news as part of its second quarter 2026 financial earnings report, revealing Subnautica 2 surpassed the 5m units sold milestone just 22 days after its Xbox Series X/S and PC early access launch on 14th May this year.
As such, the Subnautica series – which includes the original game, its Below Zero standalone expansion, and this year’s sequel – generated 232.5 KRW revenue (approximately £121m) in the first half of Krafton’s current financial year. The publisher added it “plans to maintain stable service through full launch and develop Subnautica into a franchise IP.”
Subnautica 2’s barnstorming early access success follows an extended legal battle between Krafton and three members of Unknown Worlds’ leadership team – including studio founder and original Subnautica director Charlie Cleveland – which the publisher ousted last year.
At the time of the dismissals, it was reported Cleveland, as well as Unknown Worlds’ chief executive officer Ted Gill and special projects director Max McGuire, had all been “pushed out” amid Krafton’s sudden decision to shift Subnautica 2’s early access launch from its announced “2025” window into 2026. It was claimed the move – which the ousted leadership reportedly did not support – would mean the studio was unlikely to meet the revenue targets that would unlock a promised $250m bonus for the development team.
Soon after, Krafton and Unknown Worlds’ former leadership entered into a messy legal tussle, which included the allegation Krafton’s CEO consulted ChatGPT on ways to avoid paying the bonus central to the case. Then, things took a dramatic turn earlier this year when a US judge ruled in the ousted Unknown Worlds’ teams favour. Gill was reinstated as CEO of the studio, but would later step down as part of a settlement in which Krafton agreed to pay bonuses to the entire staff of Unknown Worlds.
When the news broke, Gill told Bloomberg the terms of the settlement meant employees at Unknown Worlds (which Krafton acquired in 2021) would now be “compensated significantly more” than called for under the original acquisition agreement and would receive “further incentives” as Subnautica continues to be updated. Initially, the bonus would have been paid to the studio’s three former executives and all staff employed during the acquisition, but the settlement extended that to everyone currently employed at the studio.
As for Subnautica 2 itself, Unknown Worlds successfully delivered an enormously entertaining early access release back in May, despite all the drama surrounding the game. And the studio has announced big plans for its underwater survival sequel as it slowly winds towards its 1.0 launch, even if they probably won’t include fish murder.
