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US court rules against S Korean gaming company and its AI-hatched takeover plan
- Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will ruled that Krafton must reinstate Ted Gill and restore his control over Subnautica 2's Early Access release plans on March 16, 2026.
- Court findings show the publisher enacted a plan that Krafton CEO Changhan Kim led to avoid the earnout, including consulting ChatGPT during Project X and breaching the employment agreement by firing key employees without valid Cause after the July 1, 2025 Board resolution.
- Deal documents show that Krafton paid $500 million in 2021, with an earnout tied to a $69.8 million revenue threshold and $3.12 per additional dollar, projecting over 1.67 million copies sold.
- The court's ruling also extended the period to earn a $250 million payout, while Krafton told Kotaku it 'respectfully disagree with today's ruling' and is evaluating options as litigation continues.
- Nearly nine months after the July 1, 2025 firings, the ruling leaves Subnautica 2 release timing and earnout threshold unresolved while noting former employees returned downloaded studio data amid the dispute.
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Krafton Ordered to Reinstate Subnautica 2 CEO, Gives Early Access Control
A ruling has been made in the lawsuit between Krafton and the co-founders of Unknown Worlds, creators of the Subnautica series. The judge ordered Krafton to reinstate Subnautica 2 CEO Ted Gill. Ted Gill was abruptly fired in July last year alongside co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire. Krafton claimed a variety of reasons behind this, including incompetence and theft of trade secrets, while the studio claimed that Krafton was just tryi…
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ju-hwan = The dismissal of former executives at Unknown Worlds, the developer of the 'Subnautica' series, by the South Korean game company Krafton constitutes unfair dismissal...
·Korea (the Republic of)
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources50
Leaning Left5Leaning Right3Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Center
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center
43% Center
L 36%
C 43%
R 21%
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