Warhorse Studios is facing significant backlash over the diversity in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2). Dive into the developers' 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 the recent online backlash targeting Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2). 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 criticism the game has received for its 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 comes in response to fans and critics who have criticized the game for including LGBTQ+ content and other elements deemed "woke".
Senior Game Designer Ondřej Bittner echoed these sentiments, pointing out that the extreme voices are never satisfied. "We think the extreme voices are just never happy," he remarked.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Diversity
Set in Kuttenberg, KCD2 features a much 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 hub, Kuttenberg attracts people from various parts of the world, resulting in a more diverse population compared to other locations in the series.
Bittner highlighted the inclusion of different cultures and ethnicities in the game, such as Italians, German speakers, and a Jewish quarter. He emphasized the importance of not only including these groups but also representing their worldviews, which he believes is often missing in media claiming to be diverse.
Stolz-Zwilling clarified that neither their publisher Plaion nor Embracer mandated any specific agendas for the game. Instead, community feedback influenced their approach to KCD2. "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 has addressed rumors about players seeking refunds for pre-ordering KCD2 amidst the backlash. KCD2 Writer Daniel Vávra took to Twitter (X) to clarify 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 popular games, which also impacted pre-order sales for Monster Hunter: Wilds.
In January 2025, Vávra faced attacks over KCD2's queer representation, sparking rumors of the game being banned in Saudi Arabia due to unskippable LGBT+ scenes. Vávra debunked these rumors, emphasizing that "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. For more details, visit our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 page.
