Subnautica 2 creators are now locking their missiles on Krafton's ChatGPT logs as they continue their legal tussle over their sudden firing in July. But publisher Krafton is lobbing its own projectiles back at its ex-employees, claiming the former executives at developer Unknown Worlds are guilty.
It's another nasty skirmish in what's already been a gruesome battle for $250 million, which Unknown Worlds founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, along with ex-CEO Ted Gill, claim they're owed for reaching revenue milestones following Krafton's $500 million acquisition in 2021.
Now, Kotaku reports that Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire accuse Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han of using ChatGPT "to help him brainstorm ways to avoid paying the earnout". But Krafton says, conclusively, in an opposition document provided to GamesRadar+, that, though it's tried, it "has not located the search histories" the former Unknown Worlds leads want.
"ChatGPT" appears 23 times in the document; Krafton insists that Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire's efforts to acquire its chatbot search history are "a last-ditch effort to find something, anything, to support its claims," and it laments that "Plaintiff demanded Mr. Kim conduct the search and make the production over his lunch break."
Anyway, Krafton says, what about the Plaintiff's skeletons?
"Waiting until it was too late for Krafton to counter was likely intentional," the publisher asserts, "given that the Key Employees have apparently spoliated relevant ChatGPT data." Krafton alleges that, on the day they were all fired, Cleveland told Gill and McGuire in a group chat, "Quick reminder: check your company ChatGPT account to make sure there's nothing incriminating there."
Krafton alleges this chat was used to discuss "their disputes with Krafton (including their theft of company confidential information)".
The fate of Subnautica 2, apparently due 2026, rests on all this garbage. Krafton seems a little in denial about this. In July, Unknown Worlds' new CEO Steve Papoutsis told GamesRadar+ he found some Subnautica fans' plans to boycott the sequel after Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire were ejected from the project "very disappointing."
GamesRadar+ has again asked Krafton for its reaction to fans worried for the fate of the Subnautica franchise. The publisher says, "There is nothing more important to us than ensuring the players get the best possible experience. We are looking forward to highlighting that all of our decisions have been focused on ensuring Subnautica 2 exceeds the high expectations that come from our players.
"We were forced to make a change when the former leaders showed little interest in the development of Subnautica 2, which has always been our top priority. Now, this trial comes down to plaintiffs asking to be restored to jobs they were not doing, said they had no interest in doing, and had previously declined requests that they come back and do those jobs."
In its opposition document, Krafton maintains that Cleveland, Gill, and McGuire "had been lying for years about their involvement at Unknown Worlds, which was almost none."
"Unfortunately, the Key Employees were only focused on securing more money for themselves," argues the publisher.
