# @itstherespawn on TikTok

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.tiktok.com/@itstherespawn/video/7574049463325543702
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/74921350-itstherespawn-tiktok
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d5e298b4c1.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-11-18T13:00:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Respawn (@itstherespawn) — https://gondola.cc/itstherespawn

## Caption

Subnautica 2 publisher accused of using ChatGPT to avoid paying studio cofounders. Krafton, the video game publisher behind PUBG: Battlegrounds and inZOI, is being sued by the Unknown Worlds’ cofounders, the studio behind Subnautica 2. The three co-founders, Cleveland, Adam “Max” McGuire, and Edward “Ted” Gill, have been suing Krafton over claims the publisher wrongly terminated them to avoid paying a $250 million bonus if Subnautica 2 hit certain sales milestones. Krafton acquired Unknown Worlds as part of the publisher’s purchase of Chinese publisher Perfect World. Back in July, Krafton fired the three co-founders of Unknown Worlds, seemingly out of the blue, replacing them with Steve Papoutsis (The Callisto Protocol, Dead Space). The Unknown Worlds cofounders have claimed in new filings, based on information that came to light during the legal process, that Krafton engineered a takeover after it failed to re-negotiate lower bonuses. “Krafton terminated the Founders and seized control of Unknown Worlds in order to avoid the earnout,” said the filing. “Smoking gun documents show that Krafton was looking for ways to ‘cancel the earn-out’ and that its secret ‘Project X’ was designed to either make a ‘Deal’ on the earnout or execute a “Take over.” When the Founders would not agree to Krafton’s demands related to the earnout, Krafton decided a ‘take over’ would be the ‘easier’ route.” According to the claims, Krafton’s CEO, Kim Chang-han, allegedly asked ChatGPT to help avoid the massive payout. “[Maria Park] told Kim that ‘it seems to be highly likely that the earn-out will still be paid if the sales goal is achieved regardless of the dismissal with cause,'” the filing says. “Kim turned to artificial intelligence to help him brainstorm ways to avoid paying the earnout. ChatGPT likewise advised that it would be ‘difficult to cancel the earn-out.'” The cofounders claim Krafton refused to “produce the ChatGPT conversations and, when pressed, confirmed that they no longer exist.” As reported by Kotaku, Krafton has denied the claims, saying, “No. This claim is simply a distraction from their own efforts to destroy evidence, such as Charlie’s reminder to the other Key Employees (Max and Ted) to delete anything ‘incriminating’ from their own ChatGPT accounts.” Subnautica 2 is currently scheduled for a 2026 release. #krafton #gaming #subnautica #pubg #gamingnews 

## Stats

- **Views:** 45,046
- **Likes:** 2,962
- **Shares:** 319
- **Comments:** 40

## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

krafton, subnautica, pubg, gamingnews, gaming

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