TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Litigation is ongoing, but this ruling represents a major loss for Krafton.
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Nine months after Krafton gutted the leadership of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, leading to an acrimonious legal dispute, a judge has ordered that former CEO Ted Gill be reinstated, and that control over the game's early access release schedule be returned to him. The judge also extended the $250 million earnout period that was central to the dispute to at least September 15, 2026.
"Krafton breached the EPA [Equity Purchase Agreement] by terminating the key employees without valid cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds," the ruling states (via Kotaku).
"Edward Gill is hereby reinstated as CEO of Unknown Worlds, and his period of operational control under Section 2.7(f) of the EPA will be extended by the time that elapsed between his wrongful termination and his restoration. The July 1, 2025 Board resolution is declared ineffective to the extent it infringes on Gill's operation control right.
"Krafton is enjoined from circumventing section 2.7(f) or impeding Gill's authority over the early access launch of Subnautica 2 and must immediately restore his access to the Steam platform. Finally, the base earnout Testing Period is equitably extended by 258 days to September 15, 2026, and Fortis [the law firm representing Unknown Worlds] retains its contractual right to further extend the Testing Period to March 15, 2027."
The judge acknowledged that putting Gill in charge of Unknown Worlds again, and returning control of Subnautica 2, "will cause tension with the parent company given the obvious bad blood between the parties." But that, they continued, "does not excuse a material breach of contract" or override the performance clause agreed to by both parties, and that both Unknown Worlds and Krafton "can—and must—act in good faith to navigate their remaining contractual relationship."
Interestingly, the judge also said Unknown Worlds itself will suffer "palpable" harm if that action isn't taken: "Unknown Worlds is being run by a part-time CEO who manages another studio and had never played Subnautica before his appointment. Key staff members have quit, and the early access release of Subnautica 2 has been put in jeopardy."
Lest there be any ambiguity, the judge declared very clearly that they found Krafton terminated the Unknown Worlds ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Every Thursday
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Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
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Nine months after Krafton gutted the leadership of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, leading to an acrimonious legal dispute, a judge has ordered that former CEO Ted Gill be reinstated, and that control over the game's early access release schedule be returned to him. The judge also extended the $250 million earnout period that was central to the dispute to at least September 15, 2026.
"Krafton breached the EPA [Equity Purchase Agreement] by terminating the key employees without valid cause and by improperly seizing operational control of Unknown Worlds," the ruling states (via Kotaku).
"Edward Gill is hereby reinstated as CEO of Unknown Worlds, and his period of operational control under Section 2.7(f) of the EPA will be extended by the time that elapsed between his wrongful termination and his restoration. The July 1, 2025 Board resolution is declared ineffective to the extent it infringes on Gill's operation control right.
"Krafton is enjoined from circumventing section 2.7(f) or impeding Gill's authority over the early access launch of Subnautica 2 and must immediately restore his access to the Steam platform. Finally, the base earnout Testing Period is equitably extended by 258 days to September 15, 2026, and Fortis [the law firm representing Unknown Worlds] retains its contractual right to further extend the Testing Period to March 15, 2027."
The judge acknowledged that putting Gill in charge of Unknown Worlds again, and returning control of Subnautica 2, "will cause tension with the parent company given the obvious bad blood between the parties." But that, they continued, "does not excuse a material breach of contract" or override the performance clause agreed to by both parties, and that both Unknown Worlds and Krafton "can—and must—act in good faith to navigate their remaining contractual relationship."
Interestingly, the judge also said Unknown Worlds itself will suffer "palpable" harm if that action isn't taken: "Unknown Worlds is being run by a part-time CEO who manages another studio and had never played Subnautica before his appointment. Key staff members have quit, and the early access release of Subnautica 2 has been put in jeopardy."
Lest there be any ambiguity, the judge declared very clearly that they found Krafton terminated the Unknown Worlds ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?