Fired Subnautica 2 Founders Claim Krafton CEO Used ChatGPT to 'Brainstorm Ways to Avoid Paying' $250m Bonus And Discussed a 'Takeover' Over Company Slack Messages

As the messy breakdown betwixt Krafton and Subnautica 2 developer and subsidiary Unknown Worlds goes to tribunal this week, an explosive caller ineligible filing claims that Krafton's CEO discussed a takeover of the workplace successful Slack messages, and allegedly adjacent turned to ChatGPT "to assistance him brainstorm ways to debar paying the earnout."

Unknown Worlds' full enactment was fired amid a messy nationalist falling retired implicit a $250 cardinal bonus from genitor company, Krafton. For months now, astir sum astir the sequel has acrophobic the achy breakdown betwixt Unknown Worlds' founders and Krafton, which acquired Unknown Worlds successful October 2021. Over the summer, reports came to airy that Subnautica 2's aboriginal entree merchandise was delayed to 2026 conscionable months earlier Krafton was owed to wage a $250 cardinal bonus to the improvement squad "against the wishes of the studio’s erstwhile leadership."

Krafton issued a effect to the suit filed by erstwhile leads of Subnautica 2, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, offering rebuttals to the developers' claims and alleging they "resorted to litigation to request a multimillion-dollar payout they haven't earned." Then, past month, Unknown Worlds itself sued its founders Cleveland, erstwhile CEO Ted Gill, and workplace co-founder Max McGuire for allegedly stealing crippled plan files soon earlier they were fired.

Now, successful caller ineligible paperwork, the founders allege Krafton CEO CH Kim and Unknown Worlds newly-appointed CFO Richard Yoon discussed a imaginable takeover implicit Slack, and allegedly utilized ChatGPT for ideas connected however to get retired of paying the bonus, and acceptable up a "secret task force" to instrumentality implicit the studio.

"In the lead-up to this decision, Krafton CEO CH Kim had go frustrated with the declaration Krafton signed to get Unknown Worlds. From his seat, it had go a atrocious woody for Krafton — 1 'under which [Krafton] tin lone beryllium dragged around,'" the filing states.

"Krafton created a concealed task unit called 'Project X' whose mandate was simple: either marque a 'deal' with the Founders connected the 'earnout' oregon execute a 'Take Over' of Unknown Worlds. When the Founders refused to accede to Krafton’s demands, Krafton pulled the trigger.

"[Maria Park, Krafton's planetary caput of firm development] told Kim that ‘it seems to beryllium highly apt that the earn-out volition inactive beryllium paid if the income extremity is achieved careless of the dismissal with cause,'” the caller filing adds. “Kim turned to artificial quality to assistance him brainstorm ways to debar paying the earnout. ChatGPT likewise advised that it would beryllium ‘difficult to cancel the earn-out.'”

The cofounders allege that Krafton refused to "produce the ChatGPT conversations," aboriginal claiming "they nary longer exist.”

The filing besides seeks to bolster Unknown Worlds' claims that Subnautica 2 was so acceptable for its planned brushed launch, stating that Unknown Worlds’ playtest data, presented to Krafton successful May, "showed that the crippled met players’ expectations." Furthermore, Krafton’s "own interior adept declared that the planned 2025 merchandise would beryllium champion (and that firing Ted Gill would effect successful a multi-year improvement delay)," and Maria Park wrote "the crippled was acceptable for an August launch."

In a connection to press, Krafton said: "There is thing much important to america than ensuring the players get the champion imaginable experience. We are looking guardant to highlighting that each of our decisions person been focused connected ensuring Subnautica 2 exceeds the precocious expectations that travel from our players.

"We were forced to marque a alteration erstwhile the erstwhile leaders showed small involvement successful the improvement of Subnautica 2, which has ever been our apical priority. Now, this proceedings comes down to plaintiffs asking to beryllium restored to jobs they were not doing, said they had nary involvement successful doing, and had antecedently declined requests that they travel backmost and bash those jobs.

"Krafton remains focused connected what matters: delivering the champion imaginable crippled to Subnautica’s fans."

As for Subnautica 2 itself? Developer Unknown Worlds precocious shared a behind-the-scenes look astatine an all-new deep-sea predator, and "how the squad has utilized Unreal Engine 5 AI for lifelike behavior, real-time reactions and tense encounters for player." The 10-minute vlog is 1 of the archetypal improvement updates we've had since the ineligible wrangling began implicit the summer.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.