Reports indicate that Krafton, the South Korean parent of PUBG, recently restructured the management of Subnautica 2's dev team to avoid a hefty payout.

The publisher fired back at reporting that suggested it delayed Subnautica 2 to avoid paying out employee bonuses.

The game's developers were reportedly in line for a $250 million bonus if they had met certain revenue goals this year.

Since the report, Krafton has released a testy statement on the Subnautica 2 ordeal. “We are deeply disappointed by the former leadership’s conduct, and above all, we feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the trust placed in them by our fans,” a Krafton representative told Polygon.

The fallout of Subnautica 2's delay has led to the ousted founders of Unknown Worlds taking Krafton to court.

The founders of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, along with former CEO Ted Gill, are filing a lawsuit against parent company Krafton amid an increasingly bitter row over a $250 million bonus.

Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland claims he is suing parent company Krafton amid recent developments at the studio.

The former leadership of Subnautica 2 studio, Unknown Worlds, has announced the filing of a breach of contract lawsuit against Krafton as controversy continues.

The journey to getting Subnautica 2 on our PCs was once just a typical wait between progress updates, and a welcome 2025 early access release date on the horizon. However now, it's turned into a nasty saga of gutted senior leadership figures who are threatening to sue publisher Krafton in the wake of their surprise firing,

It's troubling waters for Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment, as publisher Krafton goes nuclear.