Subnautica 2 was originally supposed to enter Early Access on Steam sometime in the second half of 2025. Instead, it was delayed by publisher Krafton to avoid a $250 million bonus payout to the cofounders of the studio making it, Unknown Worlds. A messy power struggle and complex legal battle ensued, with a judge recently ordering Krafton to put the launch plans back in the hands of the studio. Did this unexpected delay end up hurting the most-wishlisted game on Steam?

“I always am a fan of launching earlier and earlier,” Subnautica 2 ‘s lead designer, Anthony Gallegos, recently told Polygon . “I think I’m more aligned with Charlie [Cleveland] than other people.…