A judge has ruled that South Korean video game giant Krafton must reinstate CEO of Unknown Worlds Ted Gill, after he was fired from the position in July, 2025. He must also be put back in charge with “full operating authority” of the studio and of Subnautica 2‘s Early Access release as part of this ruling.
The judge has also favoured Unknown Worlds in its first phase of legal challenges against Krafton. They state that Krafton breached the EPA by “terminating the Key Employees without valid Cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds.” As a result the board resolution that saw Gill and his co-developers fired has been declared ” ineffective”.
Gill will regain control of the Steam platform for Subnautica 2, plus the $250m bonus payout period established as part of Unknown Worlds’ sale to Krafton has also been extended. The co-founders who potentially could have earned this bonus may now do so again through 2026 and potentially beyond, something they were stripped of when initially fired.
The original claims by Krafton was that the fired developers had “abandoned their responsibilities”, a claim the impacted devs pushed back on, as they believed they were “pushed out” to avoid paying the $250m bonus. The three developers removed from Unknown Worlds by Krafton were replaced by Steve Papoutsis, who was also acting as CEO of Striking Distance.
This is a breaking story, more to follow.