Krafton ordered to reinstate Subnautica 2 studio CEO and provide control over early access release

A judge has declared that Krafton must reinstate Ted Gill as CEO of Unknown Worlds and grant him authority over Subnautica 2's early access launch following a legal battle between the South Korean publisher and the studio's founders.

The details:

• Gill, alongside fellow co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, was fired by Krafton last year. The publisher accused the trio of threatening to self-publish the title by "releasing it without Krafton's backing, marketing, promotion, or distribution,” leaving it no choice but to fire them. In response, the co-founders filed a lawsuit accusing the publisher of deliberately firing them right before delaying Subnautica 2 to avoid triggering a $250 million bonus for its development team.
• As reported by Kotaku, a judge has now ruled that Krafton “breached the EPA by terminating the key employees without valid cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds.” Now, Gill is to be reinstated as the studio’s CEO, with the judge stating that Krafton’s decision to remove the executive from his position was “declared ineffective to the extent it infringes on Gill’s operational control right.”
• Krafton has also been ordered to not impede Gill’s “authority over the early access launch of Subnautica 2" and to immediately restore his access to Steam. The $250 million bonus has also not disappeared, as the court has extended the eligibility period to September 2026 and noted that the trio have the “contractual right to further extend” it to March of next year.