Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has emerged as one of the most intriguing titles of 2025, despite its somewhat understated presence in gaming discussions. While it secured a commendable fourth place in our Game of the Year rankings and garnered accolades from various platforms, it seems to fly under the radar in casual conversations among gamers. This is particularly surprising given its status as one of the year’s standout releases and its claim to being one of the finest medieval games crafted to date. The future endeavors of developer Warhorse Studios, however, may shift this narrative, especially with recent job postings hinting at a potential transition to a new game engine.
Engine Transition Speculations
Both Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and its predecessor were built using CryEngine, a choice that proved effective, particularly for the sequel, which was lauded for its impressive optimization across a range of hardware. Yet, whispers of change are circulating as Warhorse appears to be exploring the possibilities offered by Unreal Engine for their next project.
The speculation arises from a series of four job listings released by Warhorse Studios over the past year. One listing for a senior technical animator explicitly mentions the need for “experience working with animation blueprints, state machines, and physics-based animations in Unreal Engine.” Another role, seeking a dev ops/infrastructure engineer, indicates that familiarity with TeamCity and Unreal Engine Horde would be advantageous.
Adding to the intrigue, a post on the tech-artists.org forum from December 2024 featured a user named ‘Knedlo,’ who solicited programmers and technical artists for an upcoming Unreal Engine project, linking to job advertisements on the Warhorse website. A closer look at the user’s profile reveals their identity as Jakub Holík, the tech ops lead at Warhorse, further fueling the speculation.
In response to inquiries, Kingdom Come Deliverance’s publisher, Plaion, conveyed to PCGamesN, “I’m afraid we have nothing to share on this.” While the implications of these job listings remain uncertain, the prospect of Warhorse embracing Unreal Engine for future projects seems increasingly plausible.
Future Possibilities
It’s essential to note that this shift does not necessarily indicate that a potential Kingdom Come Deliverance 3 will utilize Unreal Engine. Warhorse might be contemplating a complete engine overhaul or could be developing multiple projects simultaneously. There’s a possibility of a Gwent-like spinoff set in the Kingdom Come universe or even a sci-fi RPG that would stretch the capabilities of CryEngine.
The decision to explore Unreal Engine is particularly noteworthy, given Warhorse’s previous successes with CryEngine. The commercial triumph of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 could inspire a development strategy akin to that of Baldur’s Gate 3, albeit on a more modest scale. With the right talent acquisition and resource allocation, the studio could feasibly juggle two distinct projects.
Community manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling shared insights at Gamescom, emphasizing Warhorse’s comfort with immersive RPGs. While he confirmed that the narrative arc of Henry has concluded, he reassured fans that the Kingdom Come Deliverance IP is not permanently shelved. Stolz-Zwilling also entertained some unconventional ideas for the studio’s future endeavors, suggesting that whether set in space, underwater, or beyond, immersive RPGs remain a focal point for Warhorse.
As the details surrounding Warhorse’s next venture continue to unfold, one thing is clear: the gaming community would benefit from revisiting last year’s standout RPG to fully appreciate the depth and innovation it offers.
