Subnautica 2's Own Parent Company Yanked as Publisher

A company that owns a studio being stripped of publisher credit on that studio's own game is not something you see every day. Yet that's exactly what's happened with Subnautica 2, where Krafton's name has been quietly removed from the game's Steam page and the Epic Games Store listing, leaving Unknown Worlds Entertainment as both developer and publisher.

As highlighted by industry figure Michael Futter on Bluesky, the Steam change was made on April 7 according to SteamDB, and it hasn't been corrected in the week since. That timeline matters. If this were a database error, a week is more than enough time to fix a store listing. Nobody has, and neither Krafton nor Unknown Worlds has publicly acknowledged the change.

This is absurd on its face. Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds back in 2021. It literally owns the studio. Removing yourself, or being removed, as publisher of a game made by a company you bought is the corporate equivalent of a parent getting uninvited from their own kid's birthday party. I cannot think of another situation in games where an owner has been scrubbed from a store page like this while still holding the keys to the building.

The context here is a legal battle that has been escalating for months. Last summer, Krafton replaced Unknown Worlds' leadership, including original Subnautica designer Charlie Cleveland and CEO Ted Gill, and delayed Subnautica 2 out of 2025. Bloomberg reported that Unknown Worlds was set to receive a $250 million bonus tied to revenue thresholds, and the former leadership alleged Krafton delayed the game specifically to avoid paying it. Cleveland filed a lawsuit claiming Krafton "flagrantly breached" its acquisition agreement. Last month, a judge ordered Krafton to reinstate Gill as CEO and not obstruct his authority over the early access launch. Krafton said it "respectfully" disagreed but would comply. Days later, it announced a May early access window for Subnautica 2 without consulting Gill, whose lawyers called the move damaging to the game and the community.

No one has explained what Krafton's removal as publisher actually means, or whether Unknown Worlds has somehow reclaimed publishing rights as part of the ongoing legal proceedings. Subnautica 2 is still listed for early access in 2026 on Steam, with over four million wishlists. The early access launch is supposedly still set for May on PC and Xbox Series X.