Kingdom Come: Deliverance Developers Talked About Possible Alternative Settings They Considered
The action of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel takes place in Bohemia at the dawn of the 1400s. Although Warhorse Studios considered other historical locations, they ultimately chose Bohemia — and there are significant reasons for this.
Among the main alternatives were medieval Germany and Robin Hood’s England (roughly the 15th century). Both options seemed appealing for a large-scale action RPG focused on historical realism. However, the studio’s strict standards for authenticity and immersion played a decisive role in the decision.
Design Director Viktor Bocan emphasized in an interview with Edge magazine the key idea that for the developers, the main goal was to create a sense of full presence—where the player feels part of the world and all game systems support this impression. According to him, the historical basis is needed not for formal reconstruction of the past, but to inspire trust through plausibility. At the same time, the developers aimed not for literal reproduction of historical events but for the most accurate conveyance of the atmosphere and daily life of the era.
Achieving the necessary level of authenticity required extensive research. The studio employs historian Joanna Novak, who studies local sources—from church records to university archives—to recreate an accurate picture of past life.
The studio’s geographical location in Prague (the capital of modern Czechia, heir to the Kingdom of Bohemia) significantly facilitated this work: access to primary sources and expert knowledge was much easier than it would have been if the setting was in England or Germany. As Bocan noted, switching to other locations would have meant starting from scratch—the studio simply did not have enough knowledge about these regions.
In the end, the team made a strategic decision to rely on a more solid foundation, using deep knowledge about Bohemia. This approach paid off: the game was recognized for convincingly recreating the medieval atmosphere and attention to historical details.