Subnautica 2 publisher Krafton allegedly looked to ChatGPT to figure out how to not pay that $250 million bonus

Krafton is facing litigation from three former leads and founders of Unknown Worlds who allege the publisher delayed Subnautica 2, then terminated the founders and seized control to avoid a $250 million earnout—court filings cite an internal “Project X” that contemplated either a deal or a “take over.” The plaintiffs say Krafton’s CEO even used ChatGPT to brainstorm ways to cancel the earnout and that the company has refused to produce the purported AI chats, claiming they no longer exist; Unknown Worlds has also sued the ex-leads for alleged document theft while Krafton says the founders are pursuing an unearned payday, a dispute that creates material legal, reputational and potential financial exposure for the publisher amid its concurrent push to prioritize generative AI and voluntary redundancies.

Analysis

Plaintiffs — three former leads and the founders of Unknown Worlds — allege Krafton delayed Subnautica 2 and then terminated the founders and seized control to avoid a $250 million earnout; a pre-trial filing cites an internal "Project X" that contemplated either negotiating a "Deal" on the earnout or executing a "Take over." The complaint points to direct internal discussions involving CEO Kim Chang-han and head of global operations Richard Yoon that reference a takeover as the "easier" route, and Unknown Worlds has separately sued the ex-leads for alleged document theft while Krafton accuses the founders of seeking an unearned payday. The filing further asserts Krafton used ChatGPT to brainstorm methods to cancel the earnout and has refused to produce the purported AI conversations, claiming they no longer exist; the text quoted from ChatGPT said it would be "difficult to cancel the earn-out." Given the $250 million contingent payout, active litigation, alleged suppression of AI-related evidence and Krafton’s concurrent voluntary redundancies tied to a generative-AI push, the matter poses legal, financial and reputational downside, consistent with a moderately negative sentiment and a modest market-impact score of 0.35 reported in the signals. Investors should monitor discovery outcomes, company disclosures on contingent liabilities and any material reserves, as these will drive near-term valuation and governance risk reassessment.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Avoid initiating new concentrated exposure to Krafton until the court produces AI-related discovery or the company provides clear disclosures on the $250 million earnout and any reserves
• If already invested, consider trimming positions or using downside protection given the material contingent liability and reputational/governance risks, hedge with put options or reduce weight in portfolios sensitive to event risk
• Monitor the legal docket and company filings for production of ChatGPT logs, Project X documents, settlement talks or revised guidance as primary near-term catalysts, reassess position on any admission or material reserve increase
• Event-driven managers may consider a long/short approach: short-name exposure where market underprices liability risk and selectively go long if a transparent, favorable settlement is disclosed