I thought we were nearing the end of the legal battle between the executive branch Subnautica 2 dev Unknown Worlds and its publisher Crafton earlier this week a decisive decision was made in favor of the franchise foundersbut it seems a whole new battle is brewing.
Well, what’s going on? First, a quick summary: last year, Subnautica’s founders sued Crafton for firing them, replacing the CEO of Unknown Realms, and delaying the underwater survival-horror sequel to 2026, even though they believed it was ready for an Xbox, PC, and Early Access release. Xbox Game Passwith speculation that this was done to avoid having to pay developers $250 million in bonuses for meeting certain performance targets by the end of 2025.
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Crafton’s lawyers have pushed back with their own letter defending the company and Papoutsis, stating that the latter “simply notes the efforts of UW staff regarding a past event: Crafton’s Pre-Opinion determination that Subnautica 2 is ready for Early Access.” They claim, “There was nothing wrong with communicating the results of the security phase review or thanking the development team for their dedication and talent.”
They also went on to comment that “nothing in Papoutsis’ message alters Gill’s authority or discretion” and that the release of the game was fully controlled in accordance with the original court order.
Now, Gill’s legal team has filed a motion to punish Crafton for not complying with the court order, saying that “Crafton’s actions undermine the relief sought at this expedited stage of the litigation,” and that the May release date was set before Gill reviews the status of Subnautica2.
Meanwhile, Crafton argues that Will’s order was not in effect when it was announced Monday morning and should not be considered active until a formal “trial order” is completed.
No decision has yet been made on these new controversies, but a few things are clear: Subnautica 2 is most likely not coming out in May, and the battle between the leaders of the Unknown Realms and Crafton is not going to end anytime soon.
🗨️ Who is right?
Honestly, what a headache. The battle between Realms Unknown executives and Crafton continues, this time over a leaked internal memo that suggests the publisher chose the game’s release date before Ted Gill himself could make the call.
I asked earlier this week, and I’ll ask again: who do you believe is right here? Let me know what you think in the comments and vote in our poll:
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