89
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by CubitOom@infosec.pub to c/games@sh.itjust.works

Subnautica 2 released today in early access.

Game was mostly ready before the original devs were fired to get out of paying them what they were owed.

Original Devs seem to be winning in court, but it is an ongoing legal battle.

I was thinking to boycott but now I'm less sure. What are your thoughts?

top 29 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] magiccupcake@lemmy.world 89 points 2 days ago

A lawsuit forced krafton to rehire the fired devs, and extended the the payout period based on sales.

So ironically, for maximum hurt for krafton, you should buy the game to force a larger payout.

[-] BillyClark@piefed.social 21 points 2 days ago

Well, it depends on the actual settlement, but surely the worst thing for Krafton is if the game doesn't sell.

I think if they're forced to continue paying the fired devs based on sales, then the advantage of buying the game is to help the devs, not hurt Krafton.

[-] magiccupcake@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Well kinda

It depends on the number of sales, but for the deal that was made, 0 sales nets them as much as 12 million!

Only after 12 million sales do they come out of the red.

[-] nuko147@lemmy.world 53 points 2 days ago

Dont fucking buy it. Severe Violation of EU Law, GDPR, and Consumer Protection Regulations in the EULA.

SUBNAUTICA 2 TERMS OF SERVICE AND LICENSE AGREEMENT

Shares data with third parties such as: Cloud service providers Analytics providers Anti-cheat / security tools

The game is licensed, not owned by the player

Players receive only a limited, revocable right to use the game

The company retains full intellectual property rights

The game can be modified, restricted, or removed at any time

Mods and user content are owned by the company

Terms can be updated at any time

Arbitration clauses enforced which prevents any class-action lawsuits

Liability is heavily limited under the agreement

Accounts and access can be suspended or terminated at any time

[-] warm@kbin.earth 18 points 2 days ago

If they want analytics, it should be an opt-in.

Man gaming is in a sorry fucking state.

It shouldn't be calling home at all. And why the fuck does any game like this need anti-cheat?!

Eh, whatever, it's UE5 underperforming shit anyway. Sorry to the developers who spent time on this, I guess management fucked it for you. I don't know how much was Krafton (I'd guess not much) or just some out of touch managers, but man does it suck.

[-] wurstgulasch3000@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago

I don't know about this one but sometimes single player /co-op games utilise anti cheat to make sure players don't use tools to unlock pre order bonus cosmetics they are not eligible for which really is as stupid as it gets. Legitimate buyers get spyware and decreased performance and pirates get the better experience

[-] warm@kbin.earth 2 points 2 days ago

Yea. A singleplayer/coop game doesnt need preorder cosmetics. Thats also ridiculous.

A dev was commenting on pirating. How are they are oblivious to why people would want to pirate when the first thing you get hit with when you open the game is a bullshit EULA?

[-] nuko147@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I don't think it has anti-cheat. But that doesn't mean that the company has no cooperations with anti-cheat providers.

[-] Zacryon@feddit.org 6 points 2 days ago

Why the fuck does it share data with anti cheat and security tools?
Does it have competitive multiplayer?

[-] lzrSnap@piefed.social 22 points 2 days ago

I came here to post this, thanks for putting it up. This is AAA-dev levels of hostility to and contempt for the rights of their customers. No one should buy this under these terms.

[-] nuko147@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

I reported it to steam. In their store page it doesn't mention 3rd party EULA agreement btw.

[-] Jrockwar@feddit.uk 9 points 2 days ago

I've reported it too, probably it won't have an effect but we might as well try

[-] hornedfiend@piefed.social 6 points 2 days ago

This is what actually made me torrent it.

[-] alphabethunter@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

I shall sail the high seas then

[-] Saledovil@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago

Law of Headlines: If it's a yes/no question, the answer is "No".

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 9 points 2 days ago

On one hand, the devs need X sales before they would earn their bonus.

On the other, if they don't make those sales it wouldn't be hard to argue that the PR surrounding Krafton's bullshit was the direct cause of not hitting their target, so they would be awarded punitive damages in their lawsuit.

Either way, I think the devs themselves will win.

[-] Console_Modder@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 days ago

Unless I can buy the game and have none of my money go to Krafton, I ain't paying for it

[-] meowmeow@quokk.au 15 points 2 days ago

Well, think of it like this, they are asking for 250,000,000 that they say they are owed.

That’s not developer salary money, that’s the studio profit. They already got the first 250,000,000 to pay the developers.

So while this sounds like a shitty thing to do, it’s not like people are skipping meals. It’s just C-Suite drama—from what I can tell.

I advocate piracy

[-] ryan_@piefed.social 9 points 2 days ago

It will never be ethical to buy Subnautica 2 as long as Krafton is still involved.

[-] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

I've got no clue here. How about on gamepass? I already downloaded it and played it for 5 mins. Did i do bad.

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

what is this curator called? I'd like to follow them :3

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

what is this curator called? I’d like to follow them :3

The screenshot is also a link.

[-] shani66@ani.social 0 points 2 days ago

Real moral dilemma. Buying could send a message, but it could be taken either way. Mechanically it's probably not been/going to be fucked with by the suits, but I'm not sure the developers ever understood the good parts of the first game anyway.

this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
89 points (91.6% liked)

Games

24963 readers
252 users here now

Video game news oriented community. No NanoUFO is not a bot :)

Posts.

  1. News oriented content (general reviews, previews or retrospectives allowed).
  2. Broad discussion posts (preferably not only about a specific game).
  3. No humor/memes etc..
  4. No affiliate links
  5. No advertising.
  6. No clickbait, editorialized, sensational titles. State the game in question in the title. No all caps.
  7. No self promotion.
  8. No duplicate posts, newer post will be deleted unless there is more discussion in one of the posts.
  9. No politics.

Comments.

  1. No personal attacks.
  2. Obey instance rules.
  3. No low effort comments(one or two words, emoji etc..)
  4. Please use spoiler tags for spoilers.

My goal is just to have a community where people can go and see what new game news is out for the day and comment on it.

Other communities:

Beehaw.org gaming

Lemmy.ml gaming

lemmy.ca pcgaming

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS