Who can't relate to this classic blunder: You promised the heads of the game studio you acquired a $250 million bonus if their game sold well, and now it's the most-wishlisted game on Steam and it's looking like you'll have to pay up. Ay, caramba! What's a CEO to do?
After consulting ChatGPT, the answer that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim came up with was to fire the studio heads despite not having a convincing reason to do so, other than to get out of paying them $250 million. It didn't work out.
The studio in question is Unknown Worlds, and the game is survival adventure Subnautica 2, which is out in early access this weekâand still looks primed to hit whatever revenue goal will trigger that big payout, which is back on the table after a judge slapped an UNO Reverse Card on Krafton's plans.
In July 2025, Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill and founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire were suddenly told to pack up their desks. Initially, Krafton claimed that the three studio heads were fired because they were planning to release Subnautica 2 prematurely, and that it was so flawed that this could cause "irrev...
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