Subnautica 2’s explosive sales could force Krafton into a $250 million court-ordered bonus to Unknown Worlds

Unknown Worlds' long-awaited deep-sea survival exploration sequel, Subnautica 2, which released in early access on May 14, 2026, sold four million copies within a week, generating gross revenue of $120 million. As a result, publisher Krafton now has to hand over the $250 million milestone-specific bonus that the company spent months in court trying to avoid paying out.

An Early Access success

Subnautica 2 landed on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Xbox Series X|S on May 14, despite having an incomplete story and technical bugs that may persist for a year or two before its official 1.0 launch. This time, the game introduces seamless four-player co-op, allowing friends and family to drop in without destroying your carefully built bases.

Of course, the game is still unfinished, but Unknown Worlds is keeping the hype going with improvements and announcements of content updates. So far, the game has reached an all-time peak of 467,000 concurrent players on Steam. While official sales figures aren’t out yet, Alinea Analytics has predicted the game has already generated more than $100 million in revenue, potentially making it the fastest-selling indie game on the platform so far in 2026.

All's well that ends well?

This spells good news for the gaming community and Unknown Worlds, but bad news for publisher Krafton, as the revenue target was baked right into the publisher’s acquisition agreement for Unknown Worlds. According to The Korea Economic Daily, “Krafton agrees to pay $3.12 for every $1, or up to $250 million, to Unknown Worlds’ former shareholders every time the studio’s revenue tops $69.8 million in a month, since the South Korean game developer acquired the U.S. firm in 2021.”

The first month alone could trigger the cap, and the full payout would be around 35% of Krafton’s entire operating profit from the previous year. Everything is in the clear for Unknown Worlds, as a Delaware court has already cleared the path for the early-access release by reinstating the key developers, appointing Ted Gill president, and allowing developer Charlie Cleveland more hands-on time with the game.

With the game in early access, it has its bugs and missing features, but so far, the community seems patient, given the legal battles Unknown Worlds has been going through while also working on Subnautica 2.

Buy Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero on Nintendo Switch here