If you were itching to get your hands on Subnautica 2, you’ll need to practice patience. It was recently delayed, pushing the early access release out of this year. Instead, we’re going to see the game arrive sometime in 2026. Hopefully, it’s early next year for fans who want to enjoy this new survival game. However, the delayed news is a bit more bitter for developers at Unknown Worlds Entertainment. They are now losing out on $250m because of this delay.
Unknown Worlds Entertainment was acquired by Krafton in 2021, and since then, they’ve been working on the Subnautica 2 installment. However, morale might have been a bit iffy lately as there was a recent change in management behind the scenes at the studio. You can read more about that situation right here. Adding to the heartache for some developers is the realization that a significant amount of money is no longer coming their way.
As reported by Eurogamer, we’re finding out that the studio was on track to hit some financial goals set by Krafton. Hitting those goals would result in $250m being sent over. That money, according to reports, was already planned to be shared across the team from former leadership at the studio. It was also noted that the delay was not something that the former leadership wanted to proceed with.
Now that the leadership has changed and the delay has occurred, the targeted financial goals are no longer likely to be achieved. That ultimately means that $250m remains in Krafton’s pockets. However, in a statement supplied to Eurogamer from Krafton, the delay of Subnautica 2 has nothing to do with financial or contractual considerations.
Instead, it was noted that the delay was under discussion before any leadership changes at Unknown Worlds Entertainment. During playtests, the team found that some areas could use additional refinements. As a result, they decided to give developers more time to work on the game before an early access release next year.
