As of 17 April 2026, the current public store pages for Subnautica 2 on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Xbox all list Unknown Worlds Entertainment as the publisher. At the same time, the Delaware court record shows that Ted Gill was restored to operational control over the game’s early-access launch and that Krafton was ordered to restore his Steam access, while Krafton’s own public materials still show Unknown Worlds as a Krafton-owned studio.
No public statement from either company has yet given a direct reason for the listing switch, so the most accurate reading is that the storefront credit has moved back to the studio even though the ownership relationship and the legal fight have not been publicly resolved.
Subnautica 2 publisher drama explained
The Subnautica 2 publisher drama is not really about a single Steam edit. It is the result of a multi-layered dispute involving ownership, contractual control, launch authority, and a huge earnout tied to the game’s release performance. Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds in 2021 and said the studio would remain an independent, wholly owned development studio. In July 2025, Krafton replaced the existing leadership at Unknown Worlds, installed Steve Papoutsis as CEO, and Unknown Worlds then announced that Subnautica 2 Early Access had slipped from 2025 to 2026.
In March 2026, the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that Krafton had breached the parties’ agreement by terminating the key executives without valid cause and by seizing operational control. The mid-April 2026 storefront change is the latest visible sign that the power struggle is still playing out in public.
Why Krafton was removed as Subnautica 2 publisher on Steam
There is still no public, on-the-record explanation from Krafton or Unknown Worlds saying exactly why Krafton disappeared from the Steam publisher field. What the public record does show is that the March 2026 court order restored Gill’s authority over the early-access launch, declared the July 2025 board restriction ineffective to the extent it interfered with that authority, and required Krafton to restore Gill’s access to the Steam publishing platform. Steam now lists Unknown Worlds as the publisher.
That does not automatically prove that Krafton has been fully removed from the business side of the game. Krafton still owns Unknown Worlds as a subsidiary and has recently said it is focused on supporting Subnautica 2’s Early Access launch. The safest conclusion is therefore narrower: the public-facing Steam publisher credit appears to have been shifted back to Unknown Worlds after the court’s operational-control ruling, but no public filing yet confirms a formal publishing split or divestment.
Subnautica 2 Steam page changes: Unknown Worlds listed as publisher
The current Steam page now shows Unknown Worlds Entertainment as both developer and publisher, with a planned release date of 2026. At the same time, Steam still shows “KRAFTON, Inc.” in the franchise field, and the copyright and trademark notice at the bottom of the page attributes SUBNAUTICA and UNKNOWNWORLDS trademarks to Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Inc. That combination is important because it shows the publisher line has changed without fully scrubbing Krafton’s broader association from the page.
Recent reporting in mid-April noted that Krafton had previously appeared in the publisher credit and was quietly removed. In other words, the Steam page change is real, but it is more precise to describe it as a change in storefront metadata than as definitive proof that Krafton has exited the project altogether.
Subnautica 2 Epic Games Store publisher change
The current Epic Games Store page for Subnautica 2 lists Unknown Worlds Entertainment as both developer and publisher and marks the game as “Coming Soon.” GamesRadar reported on 14 April that Krafton’s publisher credit had also vanished from Epic, not just from Steam, and specifically noted that no public statement had been made to explain the switch.
That matters because it suggests the credit change is not a one-platform oddity. If Steam alone had changed, that could have been written off as a platform-side adjustment. But when Epic mirrors the same publisher identity, the stores start to tell the same story: Unknown Worlds is now the name being put in front of players, even if Krafton remains the corporate parent in the background.
Subnautica 2 Xbox listing publisher change
The current Xbox store page lists Subnautica 2 as published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Inc. and describes it as a Game Preview title, but it does not present a firm public release date in the store text. Windows Central and PC Gamer both reported in mid-April that the Xbox listing had changed alongside Steam.
This is a significant detail because Xbox is not a minor side listing. It is one of the game’s main public storefronts. So the publisher change is not confined to one PC platform or one regional store page. Whatever was altered appears to have affected the core public presentation of the game across the major announced Early Access storefronts.
Krafton vs Unknown Worlds lawsuit timeline
The lawsuit timeline is now fairly clear from the court opinion and the follow-up reporting. On 1 July 2025, Krafton sent termination letters to the key executives and its newly installed board resolved that Subnautica 2 could not enter Early Access without further board approval. On 10 July 2025, the seller representative sued Krafton in Delaware.
On 4 August 2025, Krafton answered the complaint. Pre-trial briefs were filed on 6 November, a three-day trial ran from 17 to 19 November, and post-trial oral argument took place on 9 January 2026. On 16 March 2026, Vice Chancellor Lori Will ruled for the plaintiffs on Phase One, reinstating Gill and restoring operational control. Days later, a fresh dispute erupted over Krafton’s public signalling of a May release window. By 14 to 15 April 2026, major outlets had spotted that Krafton had vanished from the store publisher fields.
Who owns Subnautica and Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Public ownership and public branding are not the same thing here. Krafton’s 2021 acquisition announcement said Unknown Worlds would operate as an independent game development studio wholly owned by Krafton, and Krafton still lists Unknown Worlds among its studios. That means the corporate parent relationship remains intact in the public record.
At the same time, the current Steam, Epic, and Xbox pages present Unknown Worlds as the publisher, and Steam’s footer attributes the Subnautica and Unknown Worlds trademarks to Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Inc. So the cleanest way to state ownership today is this: Unknown Worlds is still publicly a Krafton-owned studio, while the Subnautica 2 storefront and trademark presentation is currently being fronted by Unknown Worlds itself.
What the Delaware court ruling means for Subnautica 2
The Delaware ruling matters because it was not just a reputational rebuke. It restored real operating authority. The court found that Krafton had terminated the key employees without valid cause and had wrongfully usurped operational control. It reinstated Gill as CEO, declared the July 2025 board resolution ineffective to the extent it interfered with his contractual rights, ordered Krafton not to obstruct his authority over the Early Access launch, and required the return of Steam publishing access.
It also extended the earnout testing period by 258 days, moving the base deadline to 15 September 2026, while preserving a contractual mechanism that could push the period to 15 March 2027. In plain terms, the ruling put launch control back in Gill’s hands, kept the earnout alive, and left the money-damages fight for a later Phase Two rather than ending the case.
Subnautica 2 earnout bonus dispute: the $250 million controversy
The $250 million controversy comes from the structure of the 2021 sale. The court opinion says Krafton paid $500 million up front and agreed to up to $250 million in contingent earnout payments. Eligibility was tied to Unknown Worlds’ revenue through 31 December 2025, with a contractual option to extend the period through June 2026. The formula was aggressive: once Unknown Worlds crossed the threshold, each extra revenue dollar above that point materially increased the earnout, up to the $250 million cap.
Why did this become explosive? Because Krafton’s own May 2025 financial models projected that an August 2025 Early Access launch could trigger the earnout, with a base-case payout of about $191.8 million and a best-case payout of about $242.2 million. The court record also says Krafton CEO CH Kim considered the agreement a bad deal and worried about looking like a pushover if the earnout had to be paid. That is why release timing, launch readiness, and control over the Steam platform became the central battlegrounds in the case.
Ted Gill reinstated as Unknown Worlds CEO: what happened
Ted Gill was reinstated because the court concluded that Krafton had breached the agreement by firing him without valid cause and by taking control of the studio despite the contractually protected management rights given to the key employees. The court’s remedy was targeted: Gill was restored as CEO with full operational authority, and the opinion explicitly states that he may proceed with the Early Access release when he deems it appropriate.
The court did not restore the co-founders to their former positions, reasoning that they had already moved into more peripheral day-to-day roles before the terminations, while Gill had continued to carry the operational weight of the studio. That distinction is why the ruling is best understood as a restoration of launch authority to Gill specifically, not as a full rollback to the entire pre-July 2025 leadership structure.
Steve Papoutsis role in the Subnautica 2 legal fight
Steve Papoutsis sits at the centre of the legal drama because he became the replacement CEO installed by Krafton at the moment the disputed takeover became formal. Krafton announced on 2 July 2025 that Papoutsis would replace Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, framing the change as necessary to increase momentum and deliver the best possible fan experience for Subnautica 2.
The court record adds important context: Papoutsis was already running another Krafton subsidiary, would lead Unknown Worlds part-time, and before the appointment had neither played an Unknown Worlds game nor overseen the development of an Early Access title. After the March 2026 ruling, he also became the figure associated with the internal message that the game was ready for a May Early Access launch and that the studio would work with Gill on a transition. In practice, that made Papoutsis both the face of Krafton’s takeover-era management and the messenger for Krafton’s post-ruling launch posture.
Did Krafton delay Subnautica 2 Early Access release
The public July 2025 messaging said the delay to 2026 was about more time, more content, and responding to playtest feedback. Unknown Worlds’ official update said the team wanted to improve the first Early Access version before release and add more biomes, upgrades, tools, story content, and creatures.
But the later court record makes the broader picture much sharper. The opinion says Unknown Worlds had targeted 14 August 2025 for Early Access, Krafton had greenlit marketing for a 2025 release, Krafton then locked down Steam publishing rights, fired the key executives on 1 July 2025, and passed a board resolution that Subnautica 2 could not launch without further board approval. The court later ruled that these acts breached the agreement and wrongfully seized operational control.
So if the question is whether Krafton delayed Subnautica 2 Early Access, the phase-one court record strongly supports the answer yes, or at minimum that Krafton prevented the planned 2025 launch path and forced the move into a new timetable. Krafton, for its part, has continued to frame the issue as one of quality and player experience rather than money.
Subnautica 2 Early Access release window latest updates
The latest public release-window picture is surprisingly messy. The current Steam page says 2026. The Epic Games Store page says Coming Soon. The Xbox page presents the title as a Game Preview product without a firm date on the store page, and Unknown Worlds’ own games page says the game is coming to Early Access in 2026.
That means the most reliable public release window right now is still simply “2026 Early Access.” It is true that mid-March reporting said Krafton had confirmed a May 2026 target via an internal message, and that reporting also said Gill later objected that he had not approved the timing announcement. Because the official storefronts still have not been updated to a firm May date, the safest wording for publication today is that a May target was reported but remains publicly disputed, while the official public store language remains broader.
Krafton response to Subnautica 2 allegations and court filings
Krafton’s public line has been fairly consistent in tone even as the facts on the ground changed. In July 2025, when it announced Papoutsis as the new CEO, Krafton said new leadership would prioritise development momentum and the best possible fan experience. The company framed its oversight around milestone reviews, player expectations, and quality standards.
In the litigation, Krafton initially defended the terminations on the basis that the game was unprepared for release, and later raised additional arguments relating to role changes and data downloads. The court rejected those justifications in Phase One. After the March 2026 ruling, Krafton told Reuters that it disagreed with the decision, was evaluating its options, and remained focused on preparing the best possible game for fans. By mid-April, its public statement had narrowed even further: Krafton said it was focused on successfully supporting Subnautica 2’s Early Access launch and had nothing further to share.
What happens next for Subnautica 2 after the publisher listing change
The next chapter is likely to be decided in two places at once: in court and on the store pages. In court, Phase Two is still pending and will address whether Krafton also breached the agreement by impairing the earnout and whether money damages are owed. The court expressly retained jurisdiction to enforce its specific-performance order.
On the commercial side, Subnautica 2 remains publicly listed and wish-listable, but the official pages still stop short of a firm public date and no company has yet published a direct explanation for why Krafton vanished from the publisher field. That leaves three live questions for the months ahead: whether the store credits stay with Unknown Worlds; whether the testing period gets extended again to March 2027; and whether the public release window tightens from generic 2026 language to a date that both the restored studio leadership and Krafton are willing to own publicly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Is Krafton still involved with Subnautica 2?
Yes. Krafton is still the public corporate owner of Unknown Worlds, and it has recently said it is focused on supporting the game’s Early Access launch. What changed is the storefront publisher credit, which now points to Unknown Worlds. - Did the Delaware court strip Krafton of ownership of Unknown Worlds?
No. The ruling restored Ted Gill’s operational control, voided certain interfering board actions, restored Steam access, and extended the earnout period, but it did not undo the 2021 acquisition or publicly transfer studio ownership away from Krafton. - Has Subnautica 2 been given an official public May 2026 release date on the store pages?
No. The current official store pages still use broader language such as 2026 or Coming Soon, rather than a hard May release date. - Was there really a reported May 2026 Early Access target?
Yes, but it came through reporting on an internal message and was later challenged by Gill, who said he had not authorised the announcement. So May has been publicly reported, but it remains part of the dispute rather than the cleanest official public store position. - Why does Steam still mention KRAFTON if Unknown Worlds is now the publisher?
Because Steam still shows KRAFTON, Inc. in the franchise field even though the developer and publisher fields now name Unknown Worlds. The page currently reflects both the studio-facing credit change and the continuing Krafton association. - What exactly did the court order regarding Steam?
The court ordered Krafton not to impede Gill’s authority over the Early Access launch and required it to restore the access necessary to effectuate that authority, including access over the Steam publishing platform. - Were the co-founders reinstated too?
No. The court restored Gill as CEO with operational authority but declined to return the co-founders to their earlier, more peripheral roles. - What is Phase Two of the lawsuit about?
Phase Two is about the unresolved money side of the case: whether Krafton wrongfully impaired the earnout and whether damages are owed for revenue allegedly lost because of the breach and the litigation delays. - Does the publisher listing change mean Unknown Worlds is self-publishing Subnautica 2 now?
Publicly, the store pages now treat Unknown Worlds as the publisher. Legally and corporately, however, Krafton still appears to own the studio, and no official statement has yet explained whether the listing change reflects a permanent self-publishing arrangement or a narrower metadata correction. - What is the most accurate one-sentence summary to publish today?
A careful summary is: Subnautica 2’s current Steam, Epic, and Xbox listings now name Unknown Worlds as publisher, but Krafton still owns the studio publicly and the Delaware litigation over launch control and the earnout is not over.
Conclusion
Krafton has genuinely vanished from the public publisher field on Subnautica 2’s major store pages, but that does not mean the corporate story is simple. The strongest evidence says the shift happened after a Delaware court restored Ted Gill’s control over the game’s launch and forced Krafton to restore Steam access. Yet Krafton still publicly owns Unknown Worlds, still says it is supporting Early Access, and still faces an unresolved second phase of litigation over the earnout and damages. That is why the most accurate interpretation is not “Krafton is gone,” but rather “Krafton’s storefront role has receded while the legal and ownership battle continues underneath.”
Sources and citation
- Delaware Court of Chancery opinion in Fortis Advisors, LLC v. Krafton, Inc. (decided March 16, 2026):
https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=392880 - Official Steam store page for Subnautica 2:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1962700/Subnautica_2/ - Official Epic Games Store page for Subnautica 2:
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/subnautica-2-d27f94 - Official Xbox store page for Subnautica 2:
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/subnautica-2/9PJPCB188SVG - Unknown Worlds official post — Subnautica 2 Early Access Coming 2025 (October 17, 2024):
https://unknownworlds.com/news/subnautica-2-early-access-2025-teaser-trailer - Unknown Worlds official post — An Update on Subnautica 2 Early Access (delay to 2026, July 9, 2025):
https://unknownworlds.com/news/subnautica-2-coming-2026 - Unknown Worlds official games page — Subnautica 2 Early Access (current 2026 language):
https://unknownworlds.com/games - Unknown Worlds official post — A Letter to our Community (leadership transition/community letter):
https://unknownworlds.com/news/subnautica-community-letter - Krafton official acquisition announcement — KRAFTON, Inc. to Acquire Unknown Worlds:
https://www.krafton.com/en/news/press/krafton-inc-to-acquire-unknown-worlds-the-developers-behind-subnautica-and-natural-selection/ - Krafton official announcement — Steve Papoutsis as New CEO of Unknown Worlds (July 2, 2025):
https://www.krafton.com/en/news/press/krafton-announces-gaming-industry-veteran-steve-papoutsis-as-new-ceo-of-unknown-worlds/ - Reuters reporting on the March 2026 ruling:
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-court-rules-against-s-korean-gaming-company-its-ai-hatched-takeover-plan-2026-03-16/
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