To celebrate, the franchise is discounted in the Steam Summer Sale, and you can get the original for 80 percent off. If you’re keen on the sequel, both the base game and Royal Edition are discounted by a whopping 60 percent. But that’s not the most interesting part.

Warhorse has also released a small new update which updates the credits, adds Steam Controller support and fixes a few bugs. Oh, and also adds a new quest based on Balatro. If you go to the Hangman’s Halter Tavern, a “peculiar” jester is hanging about, talking about some “strange new game.” What does this mean? You’ll have to find out first-hand.

Besides PC, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is available for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. It received extensive acclaim when it launched last year, and even netted a few nominations at the D.I.C.E Awards and BAFTA’s British Academy Games Awards (where it won the Best Narrative Award). Check out our review to learn more about the base game and what made it such a special experience.

“We have a completely mind-blowing ready team to delve into what this universe has to offer,” he said. “And this is, again, an absolute passion project.” Stolz-Zwilling went on to note that the studio wants the Middle-earth RPG to be “deeply immersive”. To achieve this, “it will be a living world,” he explained. “There will be interesting characters, memorable places, and of course a strong narrative focus.”

Stolz-Zwilling went on to speak about how the team feels working on both projects, and how its experience in developing Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Deliverance 2 has prepared it to tackle entirely new RPGs.

“No matter which world we are working on, you can absolutely trust us and believe that we will build the games in a very specific Warhorse way. We pledged to that, this is our oath,” he said.

“With KCD1 and KCD2, we have a very unique way of how we craft RPGs, how we understand RPGs,” he continued. “I said in one interview with someone at Gamescom that we want to become the new kings of RPGs. I still stand by that. I know it’s a bit ‘haha’ and nosy, but I really stand by that. I think we have our very own formula you guys love, and that’s one of the reasons why the news yesterday cast these huge waves because people trust that we know what we’re doing.”

Warhorse Studios had officially announced that it was working on a “new Kingdom Come adventure” and an “open world Middle-earth RPG” earlier this month through a post on social media. In a recent earnings report, parent company Embracer Group has said that it is aiming to release the new Kingdom Come game by the start of the next fiscal year, putting its release window between April 2027 and March 2028.

The company also noted that the Kingdom Come game doesn’t have the Deliverance title attached, which means it could feature a new cast of characters and tell an entirely new story.

More recently, Stolz-Zwilling and community manager Tom Grey have confirmed that the new Kingdom Come game will be an open-world RPG. The project is led by Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s lead designer, Prokop Jirsa. The Middle-earth RPG, on the other hand, is being handled by Deliverance 2 design director Viktor Bocan.

Stolz-Zwilling said that the new Kingdom Come adventure will “continue expanding the universe of Kingdom Come. That is also very dear to us. Do not forget that Kingdom Come: Deliverance always was and still is and always will be an absolute passion project here in the studio.”

In a new Community Stream, communications director Tobias Stolz-Zwilling and community manager Tom Grey clarified this fact, along with reaffirming a potential release in fiscal year 2027 (so anywhere between April 1st, 2027, and March 31st, 2028). The new title is led by Prokop Jirsa, who served as lead designer on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Meanwhile, the Middle-earth RPG is helmed by the same title’s design director, Viktor Bocan.

Why doesn’t Warhorse Studios call it Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3? Given that the last title served as the end of Henry’s adventure, perhaps it’s the start of a brand new story. It’s further reinforced by Stolz-Zwilling saying that they would “continue expanding the universe of Kingdom Come. That is also very dear to us. Do not forget that Kingdom Come: Deliverance always was and still is and always will be an absolute passion project here in the studio.”

Of course, there’s no release date for the Middle-earth RPG or really anything about its gameplay and mechanics. Interestingly, rumors claim that Crystal Dynamics is working on a role-playing game based on The Lord of the Rings. How this will differ from Warhorse’s effort remains to be seen, so stay tuned for updates.

Interestingly, Embracer Group also made note of the fact that the “new Kingdom Come adventure” doesn’t include the “Deliverance” part of the franchise’s name, which indicates that we might be getting an entirely new story in the same setting that focuses on a new cast of characters. Whether this means we will also see any changes made to the open-world RPG series’ gameplay also remains to be seen.

Considering the fact that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and all of its DLCs had been released over the course of 2025, the fact that a new Kingdom Come adventure is already in full development also indicates that it might be a smaller-scoped project than we’ve seen Warhorse Studios tackle in the past.

Warhorse Studios had confirmed that the project was in the works earlier this week, alongside announcing that it was also working on an open-world RPG that would be set in The Lord of the Rings‘ Middle-earth. However, no further details about this second project have been revealed either, and the fact that it was referred to as a Middle-earth RPG rather than a The Lord of the Rings RPG indicates that its storyline might not intersect with the adventure of Frodo Baggins much.

The studio’s community manager, Tom Grey, had previously addressed rumors about a game based on The Lord of the Rings being in the works by noting that he couldn’t comment on future projects at the time. However, content director Ondrej Bittner said that it was a “huge, immersive RPG.” The comment was likely referring to the Middle-earth RPG.

The Kingdom Come series has been quite successful for Warhorse Studios, with the company confirming back in February that the latest entry—Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2—had sold 5 million copies.

“Five million Henrys are now adventuring in Bohemia! Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has officially reached this massive milestone, and it is all thanks to you. Our community is growing every single day, and we couldn’t be more excited to have you with us. Thank you for making this journey unforgettable,” wrote the studio in its announcement.

The milestone was hit just a few months after the RPG had sold 4 million copies back in November, shortly after the release of the final planned DLC for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2—Mysteria Ecclesiae.

For more details, check out our review of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. And while you’re at it, also take a look at our thoughts on PS5 release of the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which was released earlier this year and includes a host of enhancements over its PS4 and Xbox One versions.

Of course, further details will have to wait until the “time is right.” Rumors of Warhorse’s involvement began in March, seemingly referring to the same Lord of the Rings project reported back in September 2025. The latter has the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) allegedly providing a partial investment of about $100 million.

While little is known about it, the project will reportedly go toe-to-toe with WB Games’ Hogwarts Legacy. However, a new report from Insider Gaming later alleged that Crystal Dynamics was the developer (though it didn’t refute Warhorse making its own title in the same universe).

With the Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer referring to it as a “Middle-earth” RPG instead of an entry in The Lord of the Rings saga, it could very well be something completely different. How it will pan out remains to be seen, but given the acclaim that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 received – and promises that Warhorse’s next game would be a “huge, immersive RPG” – there are certainly high expectations.

Stay tuned for more updates as usual. As for the new Kingdom Come title, perhaps a spin-off with Sir Hans Capon as the leading man? We can only hope.

After having spent 8 years at Warhorse Studios working on both Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel, Glatz has now taken on the role of senior open world designer at CD Projekt RED. During his tenure at Warhorse, he had worked as a senior game designer and writer, and a lead level designer.

Interestingly, Glatz’s new role is similar to one that was mentioned back in December 2025 among a list of roles that CD Projekt RED had been hiring for. Other roles included Game Capture Lead, Lead VFX Artist, and Senior VFX Artist, among many others.

Since then, the studio hasn’t slowed down its efforts to hire new developers. In February, former cinematic animator on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Lucie Hennet, joined CD Projekt RED’s Warsaw-based studio, which is working on The Witcher 4.

“During my time at Sandfall Interactive, my main responsibilities included cleaning up and refining body and facial motion capture, as well as managing data from Xsense to UE5,” wrote Hennet about her qualifications. “I also provided support on the motion capture sessions and contributed to building the animation pipeline for the cinematics.”

December 2025 also saw Felix Pedulla jump over to CD Projekt RED from Larian after having worked at the Baldur’s Gate 3 developer as its senior cinematic designer. Pedulla is an industry veteran, and in the past has also worked at Crytek, having a hand in the creation of cinematics for titles that include Hunt: Showdown.

“After an incredible and frankly wild six-year ride with the amazing team at Larian Studios, a new chapter begins,” wrote Pedulla. “I’m so grateful for every chaotic, creative, and unforgettable moment we shared. We made some serious magic together, and I’ll forever cherish the lessons and memories. A huge thank you to all my incredible colleagues and friends I made.”

“As one adventure ends, another begins! I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I’m joining the legendary team at CD Projekt Red as a Senior Cinematic Designer! The opportunity to contribute to one of the most ambitious studios in the industry is a dream come true. Time to trade in my Baldur’s Gate dice for some Polish steel and get to work crafting some epic cutscenes.”

In the meantime, CD Projekt RED has continued to quietly work on its variety of projects. While it hasn’t yet confirmed a release date for The Witcher 4, co-CEO Michał Nowakowski has reaffirmed that there are plans to release the game, along with two sequels, within the span of six years.

“I do believe that further games should be delivered in a shorter period of time – as we had stated before, our plan still is to launch the whole trilogy within a six-year period, so yes, that would mean we would plan to have a shorter development time between The Witcher 4 and The Witcher 5, between The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6 and so on,” he said on the subject of development times for CD Projekt’s games getting “shorter and more predictable” in their cadence.

“Obviously we can’t comment on future projects, at least not until we’re in the future (but if you have a time machine, please show us!),” they wrote. Another post by content director Ondrej Bittner has confirmed that the studio is working on a “huge, immersive RPG.”

“We are hard at work on … something,” wrote Bittner. “I cannot disclose details, but I can tell it is a huge, immersive RPG.”

Reports about a The Lord of the Rings game being developed at Warhorse Studios started just a couple of months ago, with Polish gaming industry veteran Ryszard Chojnowski mentioning having heard about the project from “credible sources”. The report also noted that Embracer Group—the company that currently owns the rights to develop games based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic—and Revenge were also said to be involved. With Warhorse Studios being a subsidiary of PLAION, which in turn falls under the Embracer Group umbrella, such a partnership wouldn’t be too surprising.

However, reports have also indicated that an RPG based on The Lord of the Rings isn’t being made by Warhorse Studios. Rather, Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is believed to be heading up development. While the report indicated that these could be two separate projects based on the same IP, “those close to the game’s development” have said that Crystal Dynamics is making the game, according to Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw.

A game based on The Lord of the Rings was said to be in development after being funded by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office for $100 million. While Embracer hasn’t yet confirmed any details about the project because “[as] a general rule, we do not comment on rumors or speculation,” reports at the time indicated that this project would “compete with Hogwarts Legacy” by giving fans of a classic piece of fantasy literature an open-world game to roam around in.

Warhorse Studios seems to be uniquely well-suited to develop a game based on The Lord of the Rings, since the studio has made a name for itself thanks to its simulationist approach to medieval storytelling with the Kingdom Come: Deliverance games. The scope of their open worlds also tends to fit traditional video game pacing quite well, which could also indicate that this project, based on The Lord of the Rings will offer a small part of Middle-earth rather than the entire continent.

In the meantime, an MMORPG based on The Lord of the Rings being developed by Amazon Games got cancelled in October 2025 after the company started cutting back on its video game aspirations. As a result, many members of the development team have been laid off, including former senior gameplay engineer Ashleigh Amrine.

While noting that the Kingdom Come: Deliverance studio could be working on their own take on the acclaimed fantasy universe, Crystal Dynamics is allegedly the developer of this particular project. This is according to “those close to the game’s development,” but the studio and the Embracer Group declined to comment.

Apparently meant to compete with Hogwarts Legacy, the project is allegedly being developed with $100 million in funding from Abu Dhabi Investment Office. It’s reportedly a “bit away” as of now (same as last September), even though development has seemingly been ongoing for a while.

Of course, Crystal Dynamics has other projects in the works, such as Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and Tomb Raider: Catalyst. The former is launching this year and offers a retelling of the series’ first title on Unreal Engine 5. The latter, out next year, takes place years after the events of Tomb Raider: Underworld, and promises to be the franchise’s biggest adventure yet.

Is it possible that the studio ramps up production on The Lord of the Rings RPG after Legacy of Atlantis or perhaps after Catalyst is out? Time will tell, but it would be interesting to see how it tackles Tolkien’s work.

A key thing to note is that, at the time, Embracer Group and Revenge were said to be involved in this project. Warhorse Studios is a subsidiary of PLAION, which in turn is part of the larger Embracer Group umbrella. It also helps that the latter holds the game adaptation rights for The Lord of the Rings since 2022.

The report from back in September has indicated that development is being funded at least partially by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), which has put $100 million into the project. The deal was seemingly in the works for an entire year prior to the report. Embracer Group itself hasn’t yet made any comment on this project, noting that, as “a general rule, we do not comment on rumors or speculation.” The report also indicated that The Lord of the Rings game would primarily “compete with Hogwarts Legacy,” in offering an open-world title based on a major fantasy IP.

If these reports turn out to be true, Warhorse’s take on The Lord of the Rings might end up being the most ambitious game that the franchise has seen. The closest we’ve gotten to anything of this scale with Tolkien’s works was 2007’s MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Since then, adaptations of the franchise have mostly revolved around more focused experiences that revolve around one or two of its aspects.

We’ve seen it adapted into a wide variety of genres, from real-time strategy games like the Battle for Middle-earth franchise, to MOBAs. The 2010s also saw the now-defunct developer Monolith Productions try its hand at open-world The Lord of the Rings titles with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. While impressive in their own right, especially thanks to the critically-acclaimed Nemesis system, the two titles wouldn’t really be comparable to one made by Warhorse Studios—a studio known for its systems-based approach to game design.

The most recent game based on Tolkien’s work was Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, which came out in July 2025 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. Rather than presenting players with a grand adventure, however, Tales of the Shire instead focused on the relaxed life of a Hobbit, allowing players to live in the Shire as they made friends and joined the local community.

2023 also saw the release of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria—a co-op-oriented game that put players in the shoes of four Dwarves who have decided to visit Khazad-dûm in the Fourth Age. In our review, we gave it a five out of ten, praising its set-up, atmosphere, lore and gameplay loop while criticising its unwieldy combat and lackluster animations.

Posting on the KingdomCome subreddit (with mods verifying their identity), “Max H” worked at the studio since July 2022 on the sequel and its DLC. His job was to translate “dialogues, quest logs, item names, and various other things, as well as some occasional marketing materials here and there” from Czech to English.

“Simply put, if you’ve ever played KCD2 in English, you’ve quite likely seen my work.”

However, on March 27th, his position became “obsolete” to “make the company more effective” and “save finances.” Warhorse Studios is seemingly pivoting towards AI for its translations, and while Max didn’t rule it out entirely, “I naively thought my work at WHS was valued enough that I might not be at immediate risk.”

As heartbreaking as it is, he wanted to get the word out about AI, especially as it relates to Warhorse (which generated more than its fair share of revenue off the success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2). “The growing use of AI greatly affects people in the games industry and many others, and I thought you should know how much the company that makes the games you love value the work of their employees, not to mention the environment.”

Despite this, he asked that fans not harass anyone from the studio or review bomb its games. “That isn’t my intention at all. All I want is for people to be more informed about what’s going on in the games industry behind closed doors.”

While there’s been extensive pushback against AI over the past several months – the backlash against Nvidia DLSS 5 is one example – it hasn’t stopped companies from pursuing it in some manner. Some games, like Horizon Steel Frontiers, use it extensively for coding and art. Meanwhile, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn uses it for prototypes and placeholders, with the developer assuring that they will be replaced with “100 percent” human-made assets.

How extensively Warhorse intends to dabble with the tech is unseen, but for now, you probably shouldn’t expect the best translations in its next game, whenever that will release.