Subnautica 2 Publisher is Buying Out Employee Contracts After Becoming an ‘AI-First’ Company

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Krafton, the company known for games like InZOI, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and the upcoming Subnautica 2, is offering employees significant severance packages – essentially, years of pay – to leave their jobs. This comes after the company announced a big focus on artificial intelligence. Recently, Krafton had a very profitable quarter, and offering buyouts to existing employees is likely an attempt to further increase those earnings.

Krafton started in 2018 as a parent company for the game developer Bluehole Studio, following the huge success of its battle royale game, PUBG: Battlegrounds. Since then, the South Korean company has grown significantly, establishing or buying several other game studios. These include Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Tango Gameworks, InZOI Studio, Striking Distance Studios, and a number of studios focused on creating mobile games.

Krafton Is Offering Employees a Lot of Money to Quit

Despite continued success, Krafton is now offering all employees buyout packages as the company looks to downsize its workforce. This comes shortly after CEO Kim Chang-han announced a shift towards prioritizing artificial intelligence. According to BusinessKorea, an internal announcement on November 12th detailed that employees can choose to leave their jobs and receive a severance package ranging from six months to three years of salary, depending on their length of service. Those employed for less than a year would receive six months’ pay, while those with 11 or more years of service could receive three years’ salary.

This news follows Krafton’s announcement of a record quarterly operating profit of 1.052 trillion Korean won – about $717.7 million. It also comes while a legal dispute remains unresolved. The founder and former leaders of Unknown Worlds, the studio behind Subnautica 2, are suing Krafton, claiming they were fired to avoid paying $250 million in promised bonuses. Krafton, in turn, has sued these former employees, alleging they illegally downloaded Subnautica 2’s design files and abandoned their work before leaving the company.

Krafton’s life simulation game, InZOI, has also received criticism for its AI features. These include the ability to create 3D-printed items from 2D images within the game, and to generate unique textures based on what players type. While the game launched in early access in March and Krafton has continued to add content, InZOI’s player base quickly dropped. It went from over 87,000 players on its first week to less than 4,000, and currently averages around 2,000 daily players.

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2025-11-13 18:34