We have officially been robbed
In the quiet aftermath of a celebrated night for games, a Prague studio found itself grappling not only with the sting of loss but with the harder question of how to carry that loss with dignity. Warhorse Studios, creators of the historically grounded Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, expressed their disappointment publicly after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept nine awards including Game of the Year — and in doing so, sparked a broader conversation about grace, professionalism, and what it means to compete in a creative industry. The incident reminds us that how we respond to defeat often says more about us than the work itself.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated The Game Awards with nine wins, leaving Warhorse Studios empty-handed across three categories they had hoped to claim.
- Warhorse's communications director declared the studio had been 'officially robbed,' and the official account followed with a meme of a dog sitting calmly in flames — a combination that read as both wounded and defiant.
- The gaming community fractured in response, with some rallying around Warhorse's frustration while others condemned the posts as disrespectful to Sandfall Interactive's genuine achievement.
- Studio founder Daniel Vávra offered a quieter counterpoint — a wry joke about flying Air France followed by sincere congratulations — revealing a house divided on how to face disappointment.
- The backlash has sharpened an ongoing question in the industry: whether public venting is a relatable human response or a professional breach that diminishes both the studio and its peers.
The morning after The Game Awards, Warhorse Studios — the Prague-based team behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 — was not processing its losses quietly. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, had taken nine awards including Game of the Year, Best Narrative, and Best RPG, beating Kingdom Come in all three. For a studio that had spent years building a historically grounded sequel, the sweep was a hard landing.
Communications director Tobias Stolz-Zwilling posted an image of a Game Awards trophy with the words 'We have officially been robbed,' a message that hovered uneasily between theatrical and sincere. The official Kingdom Come account added a 'this is fine' meme, and a follow-up comment acknowledged a 'double oopsie' — apparently posted before the Game of the Year result had even arrived, suggesting the team was already unraveling before the night's final blow.
The posts divided the community sharply. Supporters offered sympathy for a game they felt deserved recognition. Critics called the behavior unprofessional and disrespectful to peers who had worked just as hard for their wins. The criticism landed with unusual weight because it touched something real: the question of how creators should carry public disappointment.
Not everyone at Warhorse responded the same way. Founder Daniel Vávra took a different path — joking that his flight home would be on Air France, a gentle nod to Clair Obscur's French origins, before offering genuine congratulations to Sandfall. The contrast between his measured humor and the more combative official posts hinted at internal disagreement about how to face the loss.
In a year of fierce RPG competition, Clair Obscur's sweep reflected real quality. But it also left other passionate teams without recognition — and Warhorse's reaction, whether fair or not, became a mirror for the industry's expectations around losing well.
The morning after The Game Awards, Warhorse Studios was still processing its losses—and not quietly. The Prague-based developer behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 took to social media with a series of posts that ranged from pointed to self-aware, all centered on the same fact: their medieval RPG had been shut out by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a rival title that walked away with nine awards, including the night's biggest prize.
Clair Obscur, developed by Sandfall Interactive, beat Kingdom Come in three separate categories: Game of the Year, Best Narrative, and Best RPG. For a studio that had invested years in crafting a historically grounded sequel, the sweep stung. Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, the game's communications director, posted a single image of a Game Awards trophy alongside the words: "We have officially been robbed!" The message was unmistakable, even if the tone was meant to land somewhere between serious and theatrical.
The official Kingdom Come account followed up with a meme—the famous "this is fine" dog sitting amid flames—and when developers replied to their own post, they added: "and yes, it was a double oopsie." The timing of that comment, based on the timestamps, suggested they were still processing the Best Narrative and Best RPG losses before the Game of the Year verdict came down. By then, the damage to their public composure was already done.
The posts split the gaming community. Some fans rallied behind Warhorse, offering support and sympathy for a game they believed deserved recognition. Others saw something different: a breach of professional decorum. One commenter wrote that the posts were "unprofessional, immature, and incredibly disrespectful to your peers in the gaming industry who rightfully worked hard for their awards and success." The criticism cut deeper than typical award-season griping—it touched on a question about how studios should conduct themselves when they lose, especially in public.
Not everyone at Warhorse took the same approach. Daniel Vávra, the studio's founder, posted his own reaction, but his tone was notably different. He joked that his flight home the next day would be on Air France—a wry nod to Clair Obscur's French heritage—before offering genuine congratulations to Sandfall Interactive. The contrast between Vávra's measured humor and Stolz-Zwilling's more combative framing suggested some internal disagreement about how to handle the disappointment.
2025 had been a strong year for RPGs, and the competition for awards was genuinely fierce. Clair Obscur's nine-award haul spoke to the quality of the work Sandfall had done. But it also meant that other studios—studios that had poured resources and passion into their own games—would go home empty-handed. The question Warhorse's posts raised, whether intentionally or not, was whether public frustration was a reasonable response to that reality, or whether the gaming industry expected its developers to absorb disappointment with grace. The answer, judging by the backlash, seemed to lean toward the latter.
Citas Notables
We have officially been robbed— Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 communications director
This is unprofessional, immature, and incredibly disrespectful to your peers in the gaming industry who rightfully worked hard for their awards and success— Gaming community commenter responding to Warhorse's posts
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Warhorse Studios feel compelled to post about this at all? Couldn't they have just let it go?
When you've spent years building something and you lose in three categories to the same competitor in a single night, silence can feel like acceptance. They wanted to signal that they saw what happened, that it mattered to them.
But "we have officially been robbed"—that's a pretty strong claim. Do they actually believe the voting was unfair?
I think it's more complicated than that. It's partly real disappointment, partly theater. The "robbed" framing lets them acknowledge the loss without admitting defeat. It's a way of saying the outcome doesn't reflect the quality of their work.
And the community didn't buy it?
Not entirely. Some people saw it as sour grapes—a studio that couldn't handle losing to a peer. There's an unspoken rule in the industry that you congratulate the winner and move on. Warhorse broke that rule publicly.
Did it matter that Vávra, the founder, posted something different?
It suggested fracture. His tone was lighter, more gracious. It made you wonder if the communications director had spoken for the whole studio or just for himself in that moment.
What does this say about how the gaming industry handles competition?
That it's still learning. These are creative people with real investment in their work. The tension between wanting recognition and maintaining professional dignity is real, and there's no agreed-upon script for how to handle it when you lose.