Kingdom Come 3's 2027 release window sounds too good to be true

As set in stone as it is, it's still hard to believe that Warhorse Studios announced another sequel Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 last month. It makes a bit more sense given that it might not be a direct sequel, or wasn't even the biggest news item in the studio's reveal stream – the confirmation that it's also working on an open-world Middle-earth RPG is, of course, a bit of a showstopper. But the detail that's hard to shake is actually unrelated to the incredibly exciting second title, and a bit more involved: the follow-up to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is targeting Warhorse's next fiscal year of release, placing it somewhere between April 2027 and March 2028.

That window would put the next one Kingdom Come games in players' hands less than three years after KCD2 launched in February 2025. On paper, it sounds like a gift from Warhorse to a fanbase it's been waiting for in the past – after all, it took the studio seven years to go from the original game to its sequel. That said, a turnaround of under three years for a threequel that (in theory) should be bigger or better in one way or another sounds ambitious in a way that deserves a second look.

What seven years of development actually built in the kingdom to come: deliverance 2

For context, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 wasn't a small game that just happened to take a long time to make. It nearly doubled the map size of the already ambitious, indie-developed original, received multiple Game of the Year nominations (and won a few), and sold over five million copies in its first year. It really was the product of seven years of uniquely focused development, and it showed – in the layered mission design, the authentic bohemian history on display, and the density of daily medieval life that made the world feel inhabited and involved rather than collected.

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By the numbers alone, that's clearly a pretty stark contrast to what looks like a three-year development cycle. Warhorse Communications Director Tobias Stolz-Zwilling even acknowledged that timeline directly during the community stream after the announcement—though his phrasing was direct enough to be disarming:

“If all goes well, it will come next financial year. Which means you don't have to wait seven years for another one Kingdom Come game. That's good!”

The spirit of the statement is hard to argue with, but even so, the conditional at the start – “if everything goes right” – seems like it might end up doing a lot of work. The saving grace is that the studio has already built a solid foundation with the first two Kingdom Come: Deliverance game, and if it really wanted to, it could use that as a template for the next rather than building the third entry from scratch.

Warhorse is also working on an Open-World Middle-earth RPG

In addition, Warhorse is simultaneously developing a fully open-world RPG set in JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, and the last two game directors, Daniel Vavra, stepped into another role to oversee work on a film adaptation of the film. Kingdom Come franchise. All in all, these are ambitions that would make even the most seasoned, bankrolled AAA developers nervous. Despite many triumphs over the years, Warhorse Studios definitely isn't, and Stolz-Zwilling even admitted that “this is new for Warhorse Studios” during the same stream.

In terms of gameplay alone, two parallel open-world RPGs from a studio whose reputation is built on the precision and patience of its historical world-building is a logistical stretch under any circumstances. Warhorse has grown and developed significantly – from around 120 employees at KCDlaunched to close to 300 today – but the raw headcount doesn't automatically produce the kind of focused craftsmanship that did KCD2 feel as considered as it did. It's not just about work either, as splitting development into two ambitious projects simultaneously means splitting or doubling up on creative direction, development practices, and so much more.

Image via Warhorse Studios

As intangible as that division can make things sound, the creative missions behind each project make the challenges more tangible. Prokop Jirsa, who served as lead designer on KCD2will lead the new Kingdom Come title, which is a reassuring sign that someone deeply familiar with the series' design DNA is helming it. But Viktor Bocan, KCD2s design director, has been moved over to lead Midgardsspelet, which means the two most senior creative architects of KCD2 now pursue separate projects instead of pooling their instincts into one.

How three years of development can look like in practice

The most pragmatic explanation for how Warhorse delivers a new Kingdom Come open-world RPG in less than three years is that it will not be built from scratch. Elements such as the engine, animation rigs, battle system and NPC simulation from KCD2 is already in place – and without intending to be reductive, a new map with a new story built on the existing framework is realistically how a studio compresses a development cycle without abandoning what the franchise does best. The legs are already standing.

But optimism should be tempered with caution in some cases, and that KCD threequel really qualifies, because to work from KCD2s foundation risks leaving the resulting game feeling closer to an expansion than a sequel. It's a reasonable concern, especially considering how naturally connected KCD and its sequel is already: in an interview with GamesRadar, Stolz-Zwilling called KCD2 “the game we always wanted to make.” Three years is certainly enough time for a reliable team to build something worthwhile, but it's a harder sell to convincingly pitch something with the bone-deep density that has defined the series thus far in half the time.

“If All Goes Right”

Also, it's important to remember that Warhorse's target for the title right now is Embracer's fiscal year, which runs from April 2027 to March 2028. The gaming industry's relationship with open world RPG timelines has enough cautionary examples on the books that “fiscal year target” should probably be read as project ambition. It's a historically volatile goal made even more reliant on things landing upright, given that as of last month, Warhorse's parent company is in the process of restructuring.

The case for wanting the next KCD now

Ultimately, none of these concerns change the fact that more Kingdom Comeago, is a result fans would take without hesitation. The developers have done nothing to abuse the fans' trust, KCD2 left meaningful ground uncovered, and the possibility of returning to that world—whether a direct sequel or not—before the decade ends makes skepticism feel like a worthwhile problem to have. No one is upset about these announcements, but splitting focus between a third game, a movie adaptation, and one of the biggest IPs on the planet just seems difficult. Basically, that's a lot of “firsts” – perhaps too many for a studio that's only recently (but deservedly) soared into the AAA space.

Whether Warhorse can stick the landing with a new one Kingdom Come entry and a Middle-earth RPG developed at the same time is something the coming months will begin to answer. The studio's track record gives it the absolute benefit of the doubt, and it's not a question of whether fans want it; of course they do. But if April 2027 comes and goes without a release, the real question of what was worth rushing and what wasn't will become much sharper.

Released

February 4, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+/Use of alcohol, blood and grime, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity

Developer

Warhorse Studios

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