6 days ago
The institution has been trying to weasel retired of making this costs for a while now.
Subnautica 2 is trading for illustration hotcakes, contempt being an unfinished early entree release. People person been truthful hopeless for bully old-fashioned underwater exploration that nan crippled has already sold astatine slightest 4 cardinal copies. This intends that patient Krafton has to yet make bully connected its committedness to salary devs a $250 cardinal bonus, according to a study by IGN.
This prize has been astatine nan bosom of a ineligible conflict betwixt Krafton and developer Unknown Worlds. Krafton bought Unknown Worlds backmost successful 2021 and nan statement stipulated that executives and unit would get to stock successful a $250 cardinal prize if they deed definite gross targets. According to nan South Korean business press, those targets person been deed and nan payout is apt forthcoming.
This wasn't always assured. The developers missed nan original gross target model of 2025 because Krafton delayed nan crippled to debar making nan payout. According to a pre-trial brief, Krafton CEO Changham Kim allegedly nixed nan payout because it would beryllium a "professional embarrassment" and make him look for illustration a "pushover." The institution besides fired nan CEO of Unknown Worlds and different co-founders earlier a judge forced it to reverse course.
It's 2026, truthful of people there's besides a weird AI constituent to nan story. It's been reported that CEO Kim turned to ChatGPT for ideas arsenic to really to debar paying retired that bonus. Even nan chatbot said it would beryllium "difficult to cancel nan earnout." However, nan penny-pinching CEO and his AI bestie yet came up pinch thing called Project X, which was immoderate benignant of convoluted scheme to either discuss a little prize magnitude to return complete Unknown Worlds.
"They looked to bargain time," vice-chancellor Lori Will of nan tribunal of chancery successful Delaware said successful a ruling. "Over nan adjacent month, Krafton followed astir of ChatGPT's recommendations."
That didn't work, and present we are. Subnautica 2 is really disposable to play, aft years of waiting. Meanwhile, Krafton has announced its transformation into an "AI first" company. Good luck with that.
