Krafton CEO Allegedly Consulted ChatGPT to Avoid Paying Subnautica 2 Founders’ Bonuses
A new filing in the messy legal dispute between publisher Krafton and the ousted former heads of Unknown Worlds, the studio behind Subnautica 2, has brought some seriously dramatic and ironic claims to light.
Lawyers representing former Subnautica designer and director Charlie Cleveland, CEO Ted Gill, and co-founder Max McGuire have alleged that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim was “desperate” to avoid paying them the significant bonuses required by their acquisition contract. Why? Apparently, he feared the “professional embarrassment” of being perceived as having overpaid for the studio.
CEO Turns to AI for Legal Advice?
In a bizarre twist, the pre-trial brief claims that Changhan Kim went as far as consulting ChatGPT to try and figure out a way to avoid the payout.
The filing alleges that even the AI chatbot advised the CEO that it would be “difficult to cancel the earnout”—a point that’s amusingly ironic given Krafton’s recent pivot to being an “AI-first company.” A footnote in the document does clarify that Krafton claims these alleged ChatGPT conversations no longer exist, and the company has denied the claims entirely.
Abandonment Claims and Project X
The legal saga began back in July when all three founders very suddenly left their positions, which was quickly followed by legal action from both sides. Krafton initially cited the poor state of Subnautica 2 and the founders’ insistence on an early release as reasons for dismissal, but later shifted focus, alleging the founders had “deceived” Krafton. This included claims that they downloaded confidential information after their dismissal.
However, the new filing seems to directly rebut these accusations, claiming Krafton was fully aware of the studio’s happenings and, in some cases, even supported them. For example, regarding Krafton’s complaint that Charlie Cleveland had effectively abandoned Subnautica 2 to focus on making a movie, the filing claims Krafton actually encouraged it.
The core of the former Unknown Worlds heads’ argument remains that they were fired simply so Krafton wouldn’t have to pay the sizeable earnout.
“Already concerned that Krafton had paid too much to acquire Unknown Worlds, Kim feared that making any earnout payment to Founders would earn him a reputation as a pushover and endanger his position as CEO,” it states. “Desperate to avoid such a professional embarrassment, Kim obsessed over finding a way to avoid Krafton’s obligation to pay the earnout.”
Subnautica 2 Delayed to 2026
The filing also claims that since avoiding the earnout payment seemed impossible if Subnautica 2 launched as planned, the only option was to push the release outside the earnout window. To this end, the document alleges Krafton initiated “Project X,” aimed at either a deal with the founders to delay the Early Access launch or forcing a studio takeover.
Krafton has also denied these claims, stating they are “without merit.”
Ultimately, the result of this ongoing turmoil is that Subnautica 2 is now officially slated to launch into Early Access sometime in 2026, a substantial delay from its previous unconfirmed launch window.
What We Think
The drama surrounding Subnautica 2 and Unknown Worlds continues to escalate, but the claim that a CEO turned to ChatGPT for help in a major contract dispute is just wild. Even with Krafton denying the allegations, it paints a strange picture of the lengths one might go to avoid a big payout. It’s also kind of hard to believe them since they recently stated to bring an “AI-first company.” Regardless of the outcome of the legal battle, the true casualty for fans is the extended delay of Subnautica 2 until 2026 and all of the devs working on the game losing their bonuses.
Tell Me More
The full pre-trial brief is available via Game Developer, detailing the extensive allegations and counter-claims from both parties. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story as it develops further.
