Developers from Warhorse Studios are expressing frustration over the backlash that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2) is receiving. Dive into the details to understand Warhorse Studios' perspective on the controversy and its impact on the game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Diversity is a Result of Being "As Accurate As Possible"
Warhorse Studios’ Developers Just Want to Make a Cool Video Game
Warhorse Studios' developers are tired of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 being the target of recent online criticism. Their primary goal? To create an engaging video game. In a February 3, 2025 interview with PC Gamer, KCD2's PR Manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling shared his thoughts on the backlash concerning the game's increased diversity.
Stolz-Zwilling stated, "Several years ago, we were branded differently. Now we are branded that way. It seems like someone is always trying to brand us somehow, and we are just trying to make a cool videogame." This follows after fans and critics criticized the game for including LGBTQ+ content and other elements deemed "woke."
Senior Game Designer Ondřej Bittner echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that the team isn't the issue. "We think the extreme voices are just never happy," he remarked.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Diversity
Set in Kuttenberg, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers a more diverse setting than its predecessor. Bittner explained, "There's more ethnicities in Kuttenberg because Kuttenberg is the royal mint." As the second most important city in Bohemia and the country's financial center, Kuttenberg attracts people from various parts of the world, resulting in a richer cultural tapestry.
Bittner highlighted the inclusion of different cultures and ethnicities in the game, such as people from Italy, German speakers, and a Jewish quarter. He stressed, "I think that it's important to not just include these people, but their vision of the world, which can sometimes feel lacking in games or media that call themselves diverse."
Stolz-Zwilling clarified that neither their publisher Plaion nor Embracer mandated specific agendas for the game; community feedback was the sole influence on KCD2's approach. "Everything makes sense. Everything we put there was double and triple checked," he assured.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Pre-Orders Unaffected By Recent Backlash
Warhorse Studios addressed rumors about players seeking refunds for pre-ordering the game amidst the backlash. KCD2 Writer Daniel Vávra clarified on a Twitter (X) post that the game's sales-return ratio remains unchanged despite the controversy. He noted that KCD2's position on Steam charts had been affected by discounts on nine other popular games, which also impacted Monster Hunter: Wilds pre-order sales.
In January 2025, Vávra faced criticism due to KCD2's queer representation, leading to rumors about the game being banned in Saudi Arabia because of unskippable LGBT+ scenes. He debunked these rumors, stating, "It is a ROLE PLAYING GAME, so it is purely up to the player what decisions they make and for all the decisions they make, they are responsible for the consequences that correspond to the morals and social norms of the time."
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is now available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Visit our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 page for more details about the game.
