Subnautica 2 is entering early access at last.
IGN can exclusively reveal that both developer Unknown Worlds and publisher Krafton have agreed the game is ready for its early access release in May on Xbox and PC, though an exact date hasn't been provided just yet.
Unknown Worlds head Steve Papoutsis shared the following message with the Subnautica 2 team today:
Team,
We want to take a moment to sincerely thank every member of the Unknown Worlds team and our partners. Over the past nine months, you have worked incredibly hard to bring Subnautica 2 close to the finish line. That effort has resulted in a game we are truly proud of, one that each of us and our partners at KRAFTON unanimously determined is ready for Early Access release in May.
Thanks to your dedication and talent, we've added more story chapters, built new creatures, and created new biomes along with many other features. With this significant progress, we have passed KRAFTON's milestone review last week and are now ready to start our open development journey alongside our community. We have full confidence that we have reached a point where we can deliver an experience our players will love.
We look forward to working with Ted Gill to support a smooth transition and work toward a successful launch. Our priority is getting this game into the hands of the community that has been eagerly waiting for it—and that means honoring the work you have already done to make that possible.
This comes as a major victory for Unknown Worlds on the heels of its developers achieving a significant victory in a legal battle with publisher Krafton. Last year, CEO Ted Gill and other senior team members were unexpectedly fired from the studio and the game's launch was delayed, with Krafton alleging that Gill and his colleagues were "checked out" and had failed to deliver a game that was ready for early access. The fired leaders filed a lawsuit, claiming Krafton was trying to get out of its obligation to pay out a $250 million bonus split between the entire team that would have kicked in if Subnautica 2 released on time. The ongoing legal drama in the ensuing months included severe claims on both sides, including the suggestion that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had used ChatGPT to "brainstorm ways to avoid paying" Unknown Worlds' bonus, and that the fired leaders had "referenced racist views toward Korea and Korean people".
However, just yesterday, a judge ordered Krafton to extend the deadline on the conditions for the $250 million bonus, and reinstate Gill in his former role. Though litigation remains pending, at least for now, it seems that Subnautica 2 is able to move forward with one of its primary drivers back at the wheel. Krafton itself appears to be on board with releasing Subnautica 2, as indicated by a statement shared with IGN today:
We can confirm that the internal message shared with the Unknown Worlds team is accurate. The team has made meaningful progress following the milestone review approved earlier this month, and has been working toward an Early Access release in May. While we respectfully disagree with this week's court ruling and intend to explore all legal avenues, our goal is to minimize disruption to the team and to the release plan. We remain committed to an open development approach, working closely with the community as development continues, and are focused on delivering the best possible experience to players.
With at least this much resolved, this hopefully means we'll start seeing even more meaningful updates about what's to come in Subnautica 2 in May. Just last month, the studio released a video about implementing co-op multiplayer, and last fall it showed off a new deep-sea predator.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
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