Krafton must pay $250 million to Unknown Worlds founders following the strong performance of Subnautica 2 in early access.
Subnautica 2 launched on Steam and Xbox on May 14 and has sold over 4 million copies. Revenue has exceeded the $69.8 million monthly threshold set in the acquisition agreement, triggering the maximum earnout payment of $250 million to the studio's cofounders. The payment equals 3.12 times revenue above that mark and is capped at the total amount. Krafton purchased Unknown Worlds in 2021 for $50 million upfront and agreed to the performance bonus if monthly revenue topped $70 million. The publisher previously attempted to avoid the payout by delaying the launch and firing the cofounders, but a court ruled in favor of the developers earlier this year. Sales have generated more than $100 million in revenue, with most coming from Steam where the game maintains around 60,000 daily players. Additional sales occurred through Xbox Game Pass, though direct Xbox purchases remained under 100,000 in the first week.
