It's been more than a decade since Subnautica first brought players to its underwater depths, and with Subnautica 2 currently in development, fans are excited to see what's coming up next.
But the game's release has unfortunately been hit with a delay and some alleged drama involving its developer and publisher.
So, here's everything you need to know about the Subnautica 2 release date delay and what's going on between Unknown Worlds and Krafton.
Subnautica 2 is currently scheduled for release in 2026, according to a press release from publisher Krafton.
The game had initially been slated to come out in 2025, but a week after many of the leadership of Subnautica 2's developer Unknown Worlds were let go, the game's release date delay was confirmed.
In the statement, posted on the Unknown Worlds website, Krafton explains that the delay is due to feedback from playtests, which "provided some insight that there are a few areas where we needed to improve before launching the first version of Subnautica 2 to the world".
"Our community is the heart of how we develop, so we want to give ourselves a little extra time to respond to more of that feedback before releasing the game into early access," the statement continued.
Unknown Worlds and Krafton bonus allegations
While Krafton has claimed that Subnautica has been delayed owing to issues with the game itself, a recent report from Bloomberg claims that it was instead because of a reported $250 million bonus that would be owed to Unknown Worlds.
According to Bloomberg, when Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds in 2021, the purchase agreement included a $250m bonus which would be payable if the studio hit certain revenue targets by the end of 2025.
This bonus was reportedly set to be shared by leadership among around 100 employees of the studio, providing bonuses of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to each employee.
While the report does not directly allege anything, it explains that with Subnautica 2 delayed until 2026, Unknown Worlds will now almost certainly not hit the aforementioned targets, effectively meaning Krafton will not have to pay the bonus.
From this, it could be inferred that Krafton has purposely delayed the game to avoid paying out this bonus, although, as previously explained, Krafton maintains that this delay is to ensure the game releases with more content and to a higher standard.
This is backed up by a statement provided to PC Gamer, in which a Krafton spokesperson said, "This decision was based solely on our commitment to quality and to delivering the best possible experience for players," continuing that, "It was not influenced by any contractual or financial considerations. Additionally, the decision had already been under discussion prior to recent leadership changes at the studio."
One of the departing leadership team, Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland, recently made a statement on Reddit, claiming that, among other things, Subnautica 2 "is ready for early access release", seemingly refuting Krafton's claim.
Furthermore, at a recent company town hall, new Unknown Worlds CEO Steve Papoutsis was reportedly asked whether the delay was made to avoid paying out the bonus, to which he claimed he was unaware of the specifics of the deal, but that "it's never been told to me that we're making this change specifically to impact any earnout or anything like that".
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