The developers were handling the loss with a particular brand of wit
In the quiet aftermath of The Game Awards, Warhorse Studios found itself holding nominations but no trophies, their medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 outpaced at every turn by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It is a familiar story in the life of creative work — excellence does not always align with the momentum of a moment, and the zeitgeist moves on its own schedule. The studio responded not with silence or bitterness, but with the kind of self-aware humor that suggests they understand, even if they don't entirely accept, how these things go.
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 arrived at The Game Awards as a genuine contender and departed without a single win, losing every shared category to Expedition 33.
- The sweep was not a surprise by the time the night ended — Expedition 33 had been building unstoppable award momentum across the entire season.
- Warhorse Studios refused to absorb the loss quietly, posting the 'This is fine' meme on X as the results rolled in — dark humor as a coping mechanism.
- Their congratulations to the winning studio came with a screenshot of an in-game dialogue option reading 'Blame the French,' a sly, knowing jab that landed precisely because it wasn't trying to be gracious.
- The episode underscores a hard truth about award seasons: a game can be genuinely excellent and still find itself on the wrong side of the cultural moment.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 entered The Game Awards with a strong nominations slate and left with nothing. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had been the dominant force all season, and by the time the ceremony arrived, its sweep felt almost inevitable. Every category the two games shared went the same way.
Warhorse Studios, a developer known for unfiltered communication, processed the evening publicly. Their first response was the 'This is fine' meme — a dog seated calmly in a burning room — posted to X without further comment. It needed none. Then, after Expedition 33 claimed Game of the Year, Warhorse offered congratulations paired with a screenshot from their own game: a dialogue option reading 'Blame the French.' The joke was dry, specific, and just barbed enough to make clear this wasn't standard post-ceremony sportsmanship.
The approach fit the studio's character. Warhorse has never hidden behind corporate polish, and a backhanded compliment from a team known for saying what they mean carries a different weight than the usual platitudes. Their wit, in this case, was perhaps the most honest response available — an acknowledgment that momentum is its own force, and that even a legitimately strong game can find itself on the wrong side of it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 walked into The Game Awards with a solid slate of nominations. It walked out with nothing. The medieval RPG from Warhorse Studios, which had seemed like a genuine contender in the months leading up to the ceremony, found itself outmaneuvered by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a rival that has been steadily accumulating award wins across the season. By the time the night ended, the gap between the two games had become impossible to ignore.
Warhorse Studios, never a studio to suffer in silence, took to social media to process the evening. On X, the official Kingdom Come account posted an image of a dog sitting calmly amid flames—the "This is fine" meme, rendered in its most iconic form. The message was clear without needing explanation: the developers were acknowledging a rough night with the kind of dark humor that comes from watching your work get shut out across multiple categories.
The studio didn't stop there. After Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 claimed the top prize for Game of the Year, Warhorse offered a follow-up post congratulating the winner. But this wasn't a straightforward gesture of sportsmanship. The congratulations came paired with a screenshot from Kingdom Come itself—a dialogue option that reads "Blame the French." It was a sly dig, the kind of joke that only lands if you know the game, and it suggested that Warhorse's developers were handling the loss with a particular brand of wit.
This approach tracks with how Warhorse has always operated. The studio has built a reputation for frank, unfiltered communication. The developers say what they think, and they don't tend to hide behind corporate polish. In this case, that directness made the slightly barbed congratulations feel more genuine than the standard "great work, competitor" messaging that typically floods social media after major award ceremonies. When a studio known for speaking plainly offers you a backhanded compliment, it carries weight.
The reality is that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a legitimately strong RPG. In most years, it would have had a real shot at major awards. But this isn't most years. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been the momentum machine all season, sweeping through award ceremonies and building a narrative of inevitability. The two games kept showing up in the same categories, and each time, Expedition 33 came out on top. By the time The Game Awards arrived, the outcome felt almost predetermined.
There's a lesson buried in this for anyone paying attention to how award seasons work. Momentum is everything. A game can be excellent—and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 clearly is—and still find itself on the wrong side of the zeitgeist. Expedition 33 captured something that resonated with voters and critics in a way that proved difficult to overcome. Warhorse's response, all memes and sarcasm, was perhaps the only dignified way to acknowledge that sometimes the better game doesn't win the award.
Notable Quotes
Warhorse Studios has always been known for its frank style of communication, with developers who have never been shy about saying what they mean— Industry observation
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So Warhorse Studios posted memes after losing at The Game Awards. Was that a genuine response, or a calculated PR move?
I think it was both, honestly. The studio has always communicated this way—they're known for being frank and unfiltered. But posting a "This is fine" meme is also smart because it acknowledges the loss without making excuses. It's self-aware.
Did Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 actually deserve to win over Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
That's the wrong question. Both are strong games. The issue is that Expedition 33 built momentum earlier and kept it. Award seasons aren't always about which game is objectively best—they're about which game captures the moment.
The congratulations post with the "Blame the French" joke—was that mean-spirited?
Not really. It's the kind of joke that only works if you know the game, which means it's aimed at people who understand the context. It's sarcasm, not cruelty. Coming from a studio known for straight talk, it actually feels more respectful than generic praise would.
What does this say about how award seasons work?
That momentum matters more than most people admit. Expedition 33 won the narrative early, and once that happens, it's hard to stop. Kingdom Come could have been the better game and still lost because the story was already written.
Will this affect Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's commercial success?
Probably not much. Award wins help, but they're not everything. The game has its audience, and that audience knows what it's getting. The memes might actually help—they make the studio feel human.