The CEO of Krafton used ChatGPT to push out the head of the studio developing Subnautica 2 against the advice of his own legal team and failed miserably.
Where was that half billion going to come from? Each of the previous Subnautica games sold around 5 million copies at $30 a pop, so their entire gross revenue was $300 million, tops. And that’s gross revenue, not net profit.
So, where’s that kind of money going to come from? 5 million people bought copies of Subnautica in better economic times than this, you planning on raising the price or selling the game to more people?
If you’re the CEO of a company, like Unknown Worlds, it’s your job to steer the company around outright fraud, like offers to purchase the company for far, far more money than you’d hope to generate with every planned project.
Where was that half billion going to come from? Each of the previous Subnautica games sold around 5 million copies at $30 a pop, so their entire gross revenue was $300 million, tops. And that’s gross revenue, not net profit.
So, where’s that kind of money going to come from? 5 million people bought copies of Subnautica in better economic times than this, you planning on raising the price or selling the game to more people?
Is that not on Krafton for buying Unknown Worlds for $500 million, and then offering an additional $250 million if they achieve particular goals?
If it was unrealistic, then don’t buy the company for that much, and provide a contract with those terms.
From Unknown Worlds’ perspective, it would have been irresponsible not to take the deal, assuming no other conditions.
That Krafton’s CEO got buyer’s remorse isn’t their problem to deal with. Caveat emptor and all that.
If you’re the CEO of a company, like Unknown Worlds, it’s your job to steer the company around outright fraud, like offers to purchase the company for far, far more money than you’d hope to generate with every planned project.