Subnautica 2 developers and founders have claimed that Krafton has established a task force called "Project X" in an effort to delay the game and avoid paying a multi-million dollar earnout. This is the latest development in the battle between the developers and Krafton, which started soon after the delay of Subnautica 2's early access launch in July.
As confirmed by Game Developer, Krafton CEO Changhan Kim is accused of using any means in order to delay the title. It's believed he wished to prevent the earnout payment in order to avoid embarrassment and save his job.
"Krafton fired the Founders and delayed the launch of Subnautica 2 to avoid paying the earnout. That is what Plaintiff alleged in its complaint, and that is what the evidence will show at trial," reads a pre-trial briefing. "After Krafton's finance department, in May 2025, forecast a base-case earnout of $191 million, Krafton needed a way to 'cancel the earn-out."
The plaintiffs allege that Kim believed the contract between Krafton and Unknown Worlds executives was considered to be a bad deal, and he even went so far as to ask ChatGPT for advice on how to avoid paying the earnout to the developers. "Not only was Krafton's bottom line at stake; the earnout was a threat to Kim's job. Krafton thus took action to neutralize the threat of paying the earnout," reads the brief.
Of course, this is still up for a court to decide, but the early documents don't appear to show Krafton in the best light.