Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Subnautica 2 Steam page has changed in a pretty interesting way. The listed publisher appears to have changed from Krafton to Unknown Worlds, which has fueled new speculation around the ongoing legal fight between Krafton and the former leadership of Unknown Worlds.
This does not automatically mean Unknown Worlds has fully split from Krafton. As of current reporting, Krafton still owns Unknown Worlds, and some reports say Krafton has continued to describe itself as supporting Subnautica 2’s Early Access launch even after its name disappeared from store listings. PC Gamer reported that Krafton was removed from the listed publisher field while Unknown Worlds appeared as both developer and publisher, but also noted that Krafton still owned Unknown Worlds and the change could be cosmetic.
That said, the timing is hard to ignore. This publisher listing change happened during the ongoing Subnautica 2 legal dispute involving Krafton, Unknown Worlds, and the studio’s former executives. The legal fight centers around Krafton’s acquisition of Unknown Worlds and a potential $250 million performance-based payout tied to Subnautica 2. Courthouse News reported that Krafton paid $500 million upfront to acquire Unknown Worlds, with up to $250 million in additional performance-based payments, and that the acquisition agreement protected key Unknown Worlds employees from being fired without cause.
The controversy became a much bigger scandal after Krafton removed key Unknown Worlds leadership, including CEO Ted Gill. The former executives claimed Krafton’s actions were connected to avoiding the $250 million earnout, while Krafton has disputed that and filed its own claims. Game Developer reported that the dispute is still ongoing, with Krafton filing a countersuit alleging that Unknown Worlds leadership abandoned the game and took Subnautica 2 materials and documents.
There has also already been a major court ruling in the fight. PC Gamer reported that a judge ordered Krafton to restore the fired Unknown Worlds CEO and gave the studio more time to qualify for the $250 million bonus.
So when the Steam publisher listing changes from Krafton to Unknown Worlds, it naturally raises questions. Is this just a store page update? Is it a branding move? Is it part of the legal fight? Is Krafton trying to step back from public-facing publisher credit? Or could it possibly be an early sign of a larger split between Unknown Worlds and Krafton?
Right now, we do not know that this means a full split has happened. That needs to be said clearly. Unknown Worlds is still tied to Krafton through ownership, and reporting has indicated that Krafton is still involved in supporting the game. But the store page change is still worth talking about because it comes during one of the messiest publisher/developer disputes in recent gaming news.
In this video, I take a look at the Steam publisher change, explain why players noticed Krafton being removed, go over the connection to the Unknown Worlds lawsuit drama, and talk about what this could mean for Subnautica 2 going forward.
In this video:
• Subnautica 2 Steam publisher change
• Krafton removed from the Steam publisher listing
• Unknown Worlds now listed as publisher
• What the change might mean
• Why this does not confirm a full split yet
• Ongoing Unknown Worlds vs Krafton legal battle
• The $250 million performance payout controversy
• Fired Unknown Worlds leadership and court drama
• Why the publisher change is fueling speculation
• What this could mean for Subnautica 2 Early Access
• Why fans are watching the store page closely
#Subnautica2 #UnknownWorlds #Krafton
The Subnautica 2 Steam page has changed in a pretty interesting way. The listed publisher appears to have changed from Krafton to Unknown Worlds, which has fueled new speculation around the ongoing legal fight between Krafton and the former leadership of Unknown Worlds.
This does not automatically mean Unknown Worlds has fully split from Krafton. As of current reporting, Krafton still owns Unknown Worlds, and some reports say Krafton has continued to describe itself as supporting Subnautica 2’s Early Access launch even after its name disappeared from store listings. PC Gamer reported that Krafton was removed from the listed publisher field while Unknown Worlds appeared as both developer and publisher, but also noted that Krafton still owned Unknown Worlds and the change could be cosmetic.
That said, the timing is hard to ignore. This publisher listing change happened during the ongoing Subnautica 2 legal dispute involving Krafton, Unknown Worlds, and the studio’s former executives. The legal fight centers around Krafton’s acquisition of Unknown Worlds and a potential $250 million performance-based payout tied to Subnautica 2. Courthouse News reported that Krafton paid $500 million upfront to acquire Unknown Worlds, with up to $250 million in additional performance-based payments, and that the acquisition agreement protected key Unknown Worlds employees from being fired without cause.
The controversy became a much bigger scandal after Krafton removed key Unknown Worlds leadership, including CEO Ted Gill. The former executives claimed Krafton’s actions were connected to avoiding the $250 million earnout, while Krafton has disputed that and filed its own claims. Game Developer reported that the dispute is still ongoing, with Krafton filing a countersuit alleging that Unknown Worlds leadership abandoned the game and took Subnautica 2 materials and documents.
There has also already been a major court ruling in the fight. PC Gamer reported that a judge ordered Krafton to restore the fired Unknown Worlds CEO and gave the studio more time to qualify for the $250 million bonus.
So when the Steam publisher listing changes from Krafton to Unknown Worlds, it naturally raises questions. Is this just a store page update? Is it a branding move? Is it part of the legal fight? Is Krafton trying to step back from public-facing publisher credit? Or could it possibly be an early sign of a larger split between Unknown Worlds and Krafton?
Right now, we do not know that this means a full split has happened. That needs to be said clearly. Unknown Worlds is still tied to Krafton through ownership, and reporting has indicated that Krafton is still involved in supporting the game. But the store page change is still worth talking about because it comes during one of the messiest publisher/developer disputes in recent gaming news.
In this video, I take a look at the Steam publisher change, explain why players noticed Krafton being removed, go over the connection to the Unknown Worlds lawsuit drama, and talk about what this could mean for Subnautica 2 going forward.
In this video:
• Subnautica 2 Steam publisher change
• Krafton removed from the Steam publisher listing
• Unknown Worlds now listed as publisher
• What the change might mean
• Why this does not confirm a full split yet
• Ongoing Unknown Worlds vs Krafton legal battle
• The $250 million performance payout controversy
• Fired Unknown Worlds leadership and court drama
• Why the publisher change is fueling speculation
• What this could mean for Subnautica 2 Early Access
• Why fans are watching the store page closely
#Subnautica2 #UnknownWorlds #Krafton
