We want to establish ourselves as the new kings of RPG
From a modest Prague studio with a singular vision, Warhorse has emerged from the success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 not with the restlessness of a studio unsure of its identity, but with the quiet certainty of one that has found it. Their declaration — to be makers of immersive RPGs, and nothing else — is less a business strategy than a philosophical commitment to craft. In an industry that often rewards versatility and pivots, Warhorse is betting that depth of purpose, pursued across generations of work, is what separates the memorable from the monumental.
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's critical and commercial breakthrough has given Warhorse Studios the rarest currency in game development: earned confidence.
- The studio's communications director publicly rejected any notion of genre diversification, declaring immersive RPGs not just a category but a calling.
- Warhorse now positions itself as a direct challenger to Larian, Bethesda, and CD Projekt Red — the studios that have long defined what modern RPGs are.
- The next project is already framed as evolution rather than repetition, signaling a studio thinking in dynasties, not sequels.
- The central tension remains unresolved: one landmark game opens the door to greatness, but only a sustained body of work walks through it.
Warhorse Studios has made a deliberate choice about its identity. In the wake of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's strong reception — a game now in serious Game of the Year conversation alongside titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight: Silksong — the Prague-based developer is committing fully to a single creative lane: immersive RPGs.
The declaration came from communications director Tobi Stolz-Zwilling at a preview event for the upcoming Mysteria Ecclesiae DLC. "We want to establish ourselves as the new kings of RPG," he said, adding that the studio's next project would continue in the same direction. The statement carried the weight of a studio that had clearly been asked whether success might tempt it elsewhere — and had a firm answer ready.
What gives the commitment its texture is its specificity. Warhorse isn't positioning itself as a generalist studio that happens to make RPGs. It believes it has identified a formula — a particular way of defining and building the genre — and intends to refine it across future projects. That iterative ambition is what separates studios with a moment from studios with a legacy.
The names Warhorse is reaching toward — Larian, Bethesda, CD Projekt Red — are not modest comparisons. They are the studios that shaped what RPGs mean to a generation of players. Whether Warhorse can sustain the vision that made Deliverance 2 resonate, and deepen it with each successive game, is the question that will define the studio's next chapter.
Warhorse Studios has made a deliberate choice about what it wants to be. In the wake of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's strong commercial and critical reception, the Prague-based developer is doubling down on a single commitment: it will make immersive RPGs, and it will make them better than anyone else.
The declaration came from Tobi Stolz-Zwilling, the studio's communications director, during a preview event for the upcoming Mysteria Ecclesiae DLC. "We absolutely feel at home in the RPG genre," he said. "We want to establish ourselves as the new kings of RPG. We believe that we have our own formula here, and that we define them in a specific way, and our next project will go the same direction. It will definitely be immersive RPGs." The statement was emphatic enough to suggest the studio had fielded questions about whether success might tempt it toward other genres—a bullet hell roguelike, perhaps, or a construction site management sim. The answer was no.
This kind of confidence would have sounded presumptuous a few years ago. The original Kingdom Come was an ambitious game, visually impressive for its time, but the sequel represents a leap forward in nearly every dimension. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has entered the conversation for Game of the Year, competing alongside titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Hollow Knight: Silksong. The game's success has given Warhorse something it didn't have before: proof that its particular vision of what an RPG should be resonates with both critics and players.
What matters about this commitment is the specificity of it. Warhorse isn't claiming to be a generalist studio that happens to make RPGs. It's claiming to have discovered something—a formula, a way of defining the genre itself. The studio believes it has identified what immersive RPGs should be and how to build them. If that belief holds up across multiple projects, if the next game refines and deepens what Deliverance 2 established, then Warhorse could find itself in the company of the studios that have already claimed that territory: Larian, Bethesda, CD Projekt Red. Those are not small names. They are the studios that have shaped what modern RPGs are.
The risk, of course, is that success with one game doesn't guarantee success with the next. But Stolz-Zwilling's language suggests the studio has thought about this. He spoke not of replicating Deliverance 2 but of continuing in the same direction—which implies evolution, refinement, the kind of iterative improvement that separates one-hit wonders from dynasties. What comes next will tell whether Warhorse's ambition to be RPG royalty is justified, or whether the studio's moment was bright but brief.
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We absolutely feel at home in the RPG genre. We want to establish ourselves as the new kings of RPG. We believe that we have our own formula here, and our next project will go the same direction. It will definitely be immersive RPGs.— Tobi Stolz-Zwilling, Warhorse Studios communications director
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
When Stolz-Zwilling says they have their own formula, what does he actually mean? What makes a Warhorse RPG different from what Bethesda or CD Projekt Red does?
It's about immersion as a design philosophy. Kingdom Come doesn't let you be a demigod. You're a blacksmith's son in medieval Bohemia. The world doesn't bend around you. That constraint—that commitment to grounding the player in a specific time and place—that's the formula.
So it's historical authenticity? Is that sustainable across multiple games, or does it lock them into a particular setting?
It's not just authenticity. It's the feeling of being a person in a world that doesn't know you exist yet. You could do that in different periods, different places. The constraint is philosophical, not geographical.
Why make this statement now? Why not just make the next game and let it speak for itself?
Because the industry is watching. Success like this invites speculation—will they chase trends, chase money, try something completely different? Stolz-Zwilling is drawing a line. He's saying: this is who we are. It's a promise to the team, to the players, to investors.
Is there pressure in that? Making a promise this public?
Absolutely. But there's also clarity. Everyone at the studio now knows what they're building toward. There's no confusion about whether the next project should be a live-service game or a roguelike. The direction is set.
And if the next game doesn't land the way Deliverance 2 did?
Then the promise becomes a cautionary tale. But Warhorse seems to believe they've found something real—not a fluke, but a repeatable approach. We'll find out if they're right.