Kingdom Come Reportedly Releasing in 2027, Warhorse Studios Developing Two Open-World RPGs Simultaneously
Warhorse Studios is targeting the latest Kingdom Come game for a 2027-2028 release. The studio is also developing a Middle-earth open-world RPG concurrently.
UPDATEYUK - Fans of the Kingdom Come: Deliverance series have received exciting news. Warhorse Studios is reportedly preparing a new game in the Kingdom Come universe, targeted for release sooner than expected, specifically in fiscal year 2027–2028.
This information emerged after Warhorse Studios' parent company, Embracer Group, revealed that the latest Kingdom Come project has entered full production. If all goes according to plan, the game could be released between April 2027 and March 2028.
This target is quite surprising as it means the launch will be less than three years after Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which is set to release in February 2025. For comparison, Warhorse Studios took approximately seven years to develop the sequel to its first game.
Not Just an Expansion, but a Full Open-World RPG
There was speculation that this latest project would only be an expansion or a spin-off from the main series. However, this concern was immediately dispelled by Warhorse Studios' Communications Director, Tobias Stolz-Zwilling.
He emphasized that the project currently under development is a full open-world RPG set in the Kingdom Come universe, not a media adaptation or small additional content.
In a community session, Tobias also touched upon the relatively fast release target compared to the development of the previous series.
"If everything goes smoothly, this game will be here in the next fiscal year. That means you won't have to wait another seven years to play the next Kingdom Come game," he stated.
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Nevertheless, Warhorse has not officially referred to the project as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3, leading to speculation that the game might feature a new main character or a different story from Henry's journey.
Big Challenges Behind the Ambitious Release Schedule
The release target of less than three years has raised various questions among the community. This is because Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is known as one of the most ambitious RPGs ever made by the studio.
The game nearly doubled the map size of the first installment, received several Game of the Year nominations, and achieved sales of over five million copies in its first year.
Many observers believe that developing a new game in a much shorter timeframe will undoubtedly be a significant challenge, especially since Warhorse Studios is currently not focused on just one project.
Warhorse Studios Developing Two RPGs Simultaneously
In addition to the latest Kingdom Come project, Warhorse Studios has also confirmed it is developing an open-world RPG set in Middle-earth, a fantasy world originating from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and widely known through The Lord of the Rings franchise.
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Developing two major projects concurrently presents its own set of challenges for the Czech studio.
However, Warhorse's team capacity is now much larger than when they developed the first game. The number of employees, previously around 100, has grown to nearly 300 developers.
This expansion allows the studio to divide its teams to handle two AAA projects in parallel.
New Creative Leadership for the Kingdom Come Project
Changes have also occurred in Warhorse Studios' creative lineup. The position of Creative Director for the latest Kingdom Come project is now led by Prokop Jirsa, who previously served as Lead Designer on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Meanwhile, Daniel Vávra, long known as a key figure behind the Kingdom Come franchise, is reportedly shifting his focus to oversee the Kingdom Come feature film adaptation project.
On the other hand, Viktor Bocan, who played a significant role in the development of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, has been entrusted with leading the Middle-earth RPG project.
Development Expected to Be Faster Thanks to KCD2 Foundation
Several game industry observers believe the main reason Warhorse can target an earlier release is that the studio doesn't need to build everything from scratch.
Core technologies such as the engine, combat system, character animations, NPC simulations, and various key features from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 are already available and can be further developed.
With a solid foundation, development can focus on creating a new world, a new story, and various gameplay enhancements without having to rebuild the entire system.
Nevertheless, some fans still hope that Warhorse Studios can deliver significant innovation to make the new game feel like a worthy successor, rather than just a large-scale expansion of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. (*)
