Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Devs Answered Fan Questions on Reddit and Inevitably Most Were About AI

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II developer Warhorse Studios came nether occurrence during a reddit AMA successful which fans repeatedly questioned the squad connected its usage of generative AI aft it allegedly dismissed a translator to chopped costs.

In March, erstwhile Warhorse translator Max Hejtmánek took to reddit to uncover his presumption had been made "obsolete" arsenic the workplace pivoted to AI successful a bid to prevention wealth and "make the institution much efficient." At the time, Hejtmánek said the determination "came arsenic a immense shock," adding: "The treatment astir utilizing AI for translating had often travel up successful the past, thing I was ever powerfully and vocally against, but ne'er to the grade that it mightiness really outgo maine my occupation successful the future. It had, of course, crossed my caput galore times, but I naively thought my enactment astatine [Warhorse Studios] was valued capable that I mightiness not beryllium astatine contiguous risk."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hejtmánek's firing took halfway signifier during the team's AMA, with astir questions astir the dismissal — and determination were a lot of them — answered with an HR-friendly boilerplate connection insisting that arsenic the contented "touche[d] connected interior HR matters, I can’t remark connected immoderate contiguous oregon past employee. That would beryllium profoundly unprofessional."

However, originative manager Prokop Jirsa did authorities that the workplace was "currently successful the process of hiring caller English translators. Actual humans," and planned to "have astatine slightest the aforesaid fig of quality translators connected the adjacent task arsenic we had connected KCD2."

Some of the questions were brutal, though. The squad was asked by 1 person, "which 1 of the 5 of you could astir easy beryllium replaced with AI, and erstwhile volition you beryllium doing so?" and to its credit, they did respond, writing: "Hopefully nary of us, and never. And that applies to the full team." Another said, "I ever dreamt of moving arsenic a translator for Warhorse Studios, bash you deliberation I person a chance?" to which the workplace invited the commenter to get successful touch. Others asked if it was good to constitute their questions with AI, constitute Kingdom Come: Deliverance II with ChatGPT, and, is "your Gemini Premium subscription gonna construe your adjacent crippled since you fired the feline that did the English translation?"

Another idiosyncratic said that arsenic a translator themselves, they'd been "hurt and saddened by the news" of Hejtmánek's firing. The redditor was directed to a pinned remark successful which the generic Warhorse Studios relationship said: "We perceive you and your concerns. Hopefully this explains the concern a bit.

"We bash not spot AI arsenic a substitute for quality work, and we are presently looking to grow the company, including our translation team. Some squad members find AI utile during aboriginal stages of production. However, we bash not usage AI-generated contented successful the last crippled and we person nary plans to alteration this successful the future."

With Warhorse outlining its alleged committedness to utilizing "actual humans" for translation, immoderate fans were annoyed that the team's responses were being downvoted, portion others were unsatisfied with their responses, pointing retired that the firing came aft fans had called retired the allegedly AI-generated creation recovered in-game.

It wasn't rather all astir the firing, though. One instrumentality asked for much details astir the adjacent project, to which decorator Ondřej Bittner teased: "I personally cannot hold for the reveal! But the lone timeframe I tin enactment connected it is: adjacent future. Sorry for the yet vague answer, but my hands are choky [sic]." The squad was besides suitably vague erstwhile a commenter asked astir the rumors of Warhore making an open-world Lord of the Rings game, saying: "We are hard astatine enactment on... something. I cannot disclose details but I tin archer it is simply a huge, immersive RPG."

There was besides an absorbing remark astir however hard the Rabbit UI was to implement. The strategy — which indicates whether you're safe, being hunted, oregon successful progressive combat — reportedly generated "a batch of interior controversy."

"A batch of radical thought that it was problematic that it indicated a batch of captious accusation to the subordinate which Henry had nary existent mode of knowing, e.g. letting the subordinate cognize that an NPC is starting to recognise them adjacent though the force is down them," the squad explained. "We besides didn't similar however it shifted the player's attraction from the existent NPCs successful the satellite to an artificial UI element. In the end, we went up with it, due to the fact that yet it did marque the stealth gameplay truthful overmuch readable and playtesters loved it. But I deliberation that each azygous idiosyncratic successful the openworld squad inactive to this time has a antithetic sentiment astir however we should person done it right."

Clearly, the speech astir AI dominated the reddit AMA, starring 1 idiosyncratic to state it a "train wreck." Creative manager Prokop Jirsa responded to this remark to accidental "it was a truly blistery taxable successful our offices whether to bash this AMA, but it gives america the accidental to wide the air. Let’s spot if we negociate that."

Then: "Gamers attraction profoundly astir our manufacture and the radical creating the things we each love, and sometimes that tin make immoderate toxicity. But honestly, I wouldn’t person it immoderate different way, due to the fact that it besides creates a immense magnitude of absorbing and affirmative interactions."

Last week, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II secured a 2026 BAFTA Games Award for Best Narrative.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.