Subnautica 2 Publisher Reportedly Asked ChatGPT for Help to Avoid $250M Payment

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A recent court filing claims that Krafton, the publisher of Subnautica 2, reportedly used ChatGPT to find legal arguments for avoiding a $250 million payment to the game’s developer, Unknown Worlds Entertainment. This payment was tied to reaching specific goals. Unknown Worlds Entertainment’s co-founders – Charles Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill – have been in a legal dispute with Krafton since they were let go in July 2025.

Recently, Krafton has been focusing on becoming a company that prioritizes artificial intelligence. After CEO Kim Chang-han spoke about this in October, the company reportedly began offering buyouts to employees to reduce its size, as reported by BusinessKorea. According to BusinessKorea, an internal announcement on November 12th stated that employees with less than a year of service would receive six months’ pay, while those with 11 or more years would receive three years’ salary. This has been happening alongside an ongoing legal battle between Unknown Worlds Entertainment and Krafton.

According to a recent court filing first reported by Kotaku, Krafton, the company behind PUBG, allegedly used ChatGPT to find ways to avoid paying a $250 million payment to the creators of Subnautica. The filing claims Krafton believed they had overpaid for the studio and that a Krafton executive, Maria Park, suggested the payment would likely still be due even if the studio was fired for cause. Kim, another Krafton executive, then reportedly used ChatGPT to brainstorm ways to avoid the payment, but the AI advised it would be difficult to do so. The Subnautica 2 co-founders claim Krafton refused to provide records of these ChatGPT conversations, stating they had been deleted. Krafton disputes this claim, calling it a tactic to divert attention from the co-founders’ alleged attempts to destroy potentially damaging evidence from their own ChatGPT accounts.

A Brief Timeline of the Krafton vs. Subnautica 2 Co-Founder Dispute

  • Krafton acquired UWE in October 2021, reportedly for $500 million upfront in addition to potentially $250 million for certain sales milestones were hit.
  • These sales milestones were related to Subnautica 2‘s release, but otherwise, reports suggested that UWE would remain independent under Krafton.
  • UWE revealed Subnautica 2‘s Early Access release target of 2025 in October 2024.
  • Krafton replaced UWE’s leadership in late June/early July 2025.
  • Shortly after, Krafton delayed Subnautica 2‘s Early Access release into 2026. This was reportedly due to several areas needing improvement, according to those who remained at UWE and Krafton.
  • According to Bloomberg, this delay into 2026 meant that the $250 million bonus would not be payable.
  • Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill announce their intention to sue Krafton, filing it shortly after the delay.
  • The trio claim that Krafton deliberately sabotaged Subnautica 2‘s development to avoid the earn-out, alongside other allegations (such as smaller earn-outs).
  • Shortly after, Krafton made a public statement that the UWE founders had abandoned the project and “lost interest” after initial payments to the company, alongside other allegations.
  • In August, Krafton’s UWE subsidiary filed its own lawsuit against Cleveland, McGuire, and Gill.
  • Both lawsuits remain pending.

While facing several lawsuits, Krafton has publicly positioned itself as a company focused on artificial intelligence. Reports suggest they offered buyouts and even used ChatGPT to potentially avoid paying a $250 million earn-out agreement. However, details of these legal battles are largely confidential, so what’s been revealed is just a glimpse of an ongoing and complex situation.

As a big fan, all this legal stuff has been really confusing when it comes to finding out more about Subnautica 2. We all love the first game, and Subnautica 2 is still officially planned for early access in 2026, but I’m worried these legal issues might delay things. Honestly, we just have to wait and see what happens next.

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2025-11-18 00:05