Subnautica 2 Delays Early Access to 2026, Krafton Avoids Multi-Million Dollar Bonus

A new report suggests the delay is not due to technical issues but rather Krafton wanting to avoid a series of multi-million dollar bonuses based on targets.

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The decision to delay Subnautica 2 until 2026 has **caused quite a stir in the gaming community,** especially after it was revealed that **the decision was made against the wishes of the previous leadership at Unknown Worlds Entertainment.** According to a Bloomberg report by Jason Schreier, the game was expected to launch in **PC Steam Early Access at the end of 2025,** but South Korean publisher Krafton decided to postpone it.

Last week, **Krafton fired the leadership of Unknown Worlds Entertainment,** which consisted of founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and CEO Ted Gill, and appointed Steve Papoutsis, former CEO of Striking Distance Studios, as the new CEO. 

Was It Really Not Ready?

Schreier’s reconstruction, based on testimony from an informed source who wished to remain anonymous, suggests that the decision to delay the game was due to a coincidence that cannot be ignored: **Krafton was supposed to issue a $250 million bonus to members of Unknown Worlds Entertainment if they had achieved certain economic targets by the end of 2025.**

**The postponement of Subnautica 2 will make it almost impossible to achieve these results,** meaning the studio is destined to receive no bonus. The source claims that the previous leadership of Unknown Worlds **planned to share the full $250 million bonus with all members of the development team, which numbers around one hundred.** The members who were already part of Unknown Worlds at the time of Krafton’s acquisition in 2021 could have benefited from bonuses of up to seven figures.

During a private meeting with Unknown World employees, new **CEO Steve Papoutsis said he didn’t believe Subnautica 2 was ready for this year** and that the delay was due to the intention of adding more content. However, when one of the attendees asked if the delay had been decided to avoid paying the $250 million bonus, Papoutsis replied that he was unaware of the details of that agreement. 

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