The Modest Budget of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Did Not Prevent the Game from Securing a Worthy Place in the Gaming Industry
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 impresses with its scale, yet it was created with a noticeably more modest budget compared to major RPG projects like Assassin’s Creed Shadows or Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Instead of entering into direct competition with industry giants, Warhorse Studios chose its own strategy — to focus on uniqueness rather than the volume of resources.
In an interview, the game's lead designer Prokop Jirsa explained how the team sought a balance between hardcore elements and accessibility. According to him, the developers operated on the premise that there is a significant audience of players who want to feel that they control the game, rather than it "playing itself." At the same time, the studio managed to create an illusion of difficulty, as the game is perceived as more demanding than it actually is.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 includes many mechanics characteristic of truly hardcore survival games. However, the developers consciously reduced the number of routine tasks that the player must perform. This allowed them to maintain depth and atmosphere, without tiring the player with monotonous actions.
This approach fundamentally distinguishes Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 from the aforementioned blockbusters. While Assassin’s Creed and Dragon Age: The Veilguard rely on refined, "safe" gameplay designed for a broad audience, Warhorse Studios took a different path. As the project’s producer noted, competing with multimillion-dollar budget games on their terms would have been pointless — it “would have been suicide.” Instead, the studio decided to "change the rules of the game," offering its own vision of what a modern RPG can be.
Despite limited resources, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 earned players’ recognition and became one of the most discussed and beloved games of last year. The project's success demonstrates that there is still room in the industry for authorial solutions — even if they run counter to mainstream trends.