Sequel of popular Czech video game takes you to medieval Bohemia

Czech game developer Warhorse Studios has officially announced the upcoming release of the highly anticipated sequel to its 2018 game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The second installment of the action-adventure role-playing game series will be set in 15th-century Bohemia and will let users play in medieval Kutna Hora and Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj).

"Our new game is on a much larger scale. The world’s size is twice as big now. In the original game we had about three hours of animation – it’s over five now. The story is longer and much grander,” said lead game designer and co-founder of Warhorse Studios Daniel Vávra. Warhose this week released the official trailer for the game, along with gameplay stills.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will feature the same protagonist as in the first version of the game, Jindřich (Henry), who in the 2018 game led a resistance movement against Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxembourg. Developers say that Jindřich in the second version of the series will continue his quest for revenge following the murder of his family.

According to the game’s developers, the combat system, which rewards quick reflexes and cleverness, will remain a core feature. Players will for the first time be able to equip and battle with crossbows and other new firearms. "We are now creating something that should have been there from the beginning," Vávra said. “But we couldn't make it happen because we didn't have enough resources, experience, and so on,” he added. 

Warehouse says that around 250 developers have worked on the second installment of the game, compared with around 100 specialists working on the first edition. 

As in the 2018 edition, the game features branching quest lines, an open-world environment, and period-accurate weapons, clothing, combat techniques, and architecture. The first installment of the series took the user through Central Bohemian towns such as Ledečko, Mrchojedy, and Sázava.

Notably, critics complained that the first edition of the game had very few different ethnicities and people of color. Warhorse had vociferously defended its position, saying that the first edition of the game reflected what was known about Bohemia in 1403. Review magazine PC Gamer wrote this week that the second version of the game “is set to address one of the more controversial elements of the first game – its lack of diversity.”

In a recent interview with popular entertainment media website IGN, Warhorse said: "Henry is embarking on a journey from the countryside and local quarrels to a relatively cosmopolitan city that is besieged and occupied by the invading king. Naturally, in a place like this, people can expect a wide range of ethnicities and different characters that Henry will meet.”

Critics rated the first version of the game favorably, with review website Metacritic posting a score of 76 out of 100 for the game’s PC version. IGN gave the game an eight out of 10 score. Kingdom Come: Deliverance was also chosen as the Czech Game of the Decade at the 2020 Czech Game of the Year Awards. As of February 2024, the game has sold 6 million copies.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will be available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. Warhorse has said that the game will cost CZK 1,799 and will be released at the end of this year. The game will be offered in English, but will also have Czech dubbing. 

This week also saw the release of Vivat Slovakia, a PC game featuring 20 story missions based on real events set in 1990s Slovakia after its split from Czechoslovakia. The open-world game is modeled in a similar way to the popular Grand Theft Auto series, giving players a chance to freely roam in the Slovak world as well as take on various quests and missions. In addition to Slovak dubbing, the game also offers English and Czech subtitles.