There has been a huge fuss lately that Nickelodeon greenlit Kamp Koral, the SpongeBob babies spin-off behind Hillenburg's back, but according to Kamp Koral's script coordinator, Stephen knew about Kamp Koral, which It's why it's included in Sponge on the Run as well.

So yeah, Nick didn't wait for him to die to make this, he was aware of it from the start.