Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an action role-playing game released on February 4, 2025.
The game has outperformed everyone’s expectations and has quickly become a contender for 2025’s Game of the Year award.
We interviewed Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, Global PR Manager at Warhorse Studios, over email.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance started as a Kickstarter project in 2014 that quickly gained overwhelming support from gamers. Surpassing its initial funding goal by more than three times, it went on to deliver an exceptional experience that still holds itself to this day. Since then, Warhorse Studios has come a long way, recently releasing Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
The sequel has already proven to be a massive success, selling over a million copies within just a day of launch. Suffice it to say, KCD 2 is a product of years of hard work and a much-needed title in this time of questionable releases. To gain deeper insight into its development and what the future holds, we spoke with Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, Global PR Manager at Warhorse Studios, over an email interview.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Continues The Story Of Henry.
The game has received a lot of praise alongside some major feedback. What are some changes or fixes at the forefront that you are prioritizing for future updates?
Tobias: Yes, it is great to get all the feedback from the people. The next steps will be some hotfixes and patches, but luckily, the game is pretty solid already.
The roadmap trailer revealed three free updates and three major DLCs. I am curious to know if there is a reason why any of the free updates aren't available on launch. Was it a matter of crunch time or something else?
Tobias: We already had good experiences with this approach with Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1. We let people first experience the vanilla version and then add more to it. This approach is also better for newcomers to the game.
Speaking of the roadmap trailer, does the studio plan on supporting the title with major updates, like DLCs, for a long time, even after 2025, or do you want to complete the title this year and then move on to your next project?
Tobias: So far, we are only planning with the DLCs and additions mentioned.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Sold 1 Million Copies After A Day Of Release.
Everyone talks about the negatives of being a non-independent studio, but I wanted to know what the experience has been at Warhorse. Do you think the game would still have performed as good, if not better, without the influence of Embracer?
Tobias: We are under no influence of Embracer, nor Plaion. The game is under full control at Warhorse without anyone telling us what to do or not to do. However, Plaion helps a lot with Marketing and Worldwide Distribution. The latter is definitely something we wouldn’t be able to do ourselves.
Warhorse Studios is a great studio, but still not as big compared to other powerhouses in the industry. Now thanks to the successful launch of KCD II, is there a chance we see you expanding your operations by hiring more talent and maybe even opening a new branch?
Tobias: Well, thank you. We are absolutely planning to grow even further.
Do you think the success of KCD II will be a significant step for the Czech video game industry? And does Warhorse Studios plan on supporting the local talent through funding or with marketing?
Tobias: That’s hard to say, but we want to believe that it does help all Czech Developers in some way or at least inspires them to reach for the stars.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Topped The Steam Top-Sellers List On Release Day.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Warhorse has to be one of the biggest Kickstarter success stories yet. Could you expand on the key aspects that made this such a successful IP, especially with there being a pandemic that changed the gaming industry drastically, between the first game and the sequel?
Tobias: Again it’s hard to precisely name the key aspects. At the end of the day, we just made a game that we thought was cool and that (luckily) people thought was cool. Despite everyone telling us before Kickstarter how no one wants to play large open-world single-player games rooted in historical events without magic and dragons, we stayed stubborn and delivered KCD1. We then took a lot of feedback from the gamers and crafted KCD2, which is in all aspects better than the first game – one could say that this is the vision we had in 2014.
A while ago, in a Reddit post, it was claimed that KCD II is spiritually the Act II of KCD I, even though there were no Acts in the first game. I am curious, what would you like to see in the next Act of the franchise? What setting or bold mechanics would you like to work on?
Tobias: We pretty quickly scrapped the Act idea as we were not really able to make logic cuts in the game. So, instead of Acts 1, 2, and 3, we have two much bigger games than we ever planned.
Do you think publishers will finally start prioritizing single-player titles over live service, especially after the repeated success of insane single-players like KCD II?
Tobias: The ways and thinking of publishers are very often very mysterious.
The game has been subjected to a fair share of controversy and hate due to several reasons, like 'being woke' and Daniel Vávra's comments. Has that, in any way, affected how you approach future content or even your next title?
Tobias: No.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Has Become A Top Contender For Game Of The Year Award 2025.
Mudassir is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering the stories behind our favorite virtual worlds. Armed with a trusty notepad and a keen curiosity, he dives headfirst into the gaming industry's most exciting personalities. His knack for insightful questions and his ability to connect with developers and gamers alike makes his interviews a must-read. While on the lookout for the next person to interview, Mudassir keeps himself busy by writing news surrounding the gaming universe.
Experience: 4+ Years || Senior Journalist || Education: Bachelor's in Psychology.
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