The highly anticipated Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has finally launched, and it’s already breaking records. The open-world RPG premiered yesterday at 5:00 p.m. and managed to gather 132,629 simultaneous players within two hours, surpassing its predecessor. Not only does it excel in gameplay, but it also stands out visually by avoiding the Unreal Engine 5 trend in favor of the stunning CryEngine. In fact, director Daniel Vávra believes CD Projekt RED made a huge mistake by switching The Witcher 4 to Unreal Engine 5.

Back in 2023, CD Projekt announced that it would abandon its proprietary REDengine—which powered The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077—in favor of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. This move aligned the studio with many developers prioritizing UE5’s impressive visual capabilities, despite growing concerns over its performance issues.

Meanwhile, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 utilizes CryEngine 5, Crytek’s cutting-edge technology that has powered games like Crysis and Hunt: Showdown. This decision goes against the industry trend, and Vávra not only considers it the right choice but also warns other developers about the risks of overcommitting to Unreal Engine 5.

In particular, Vávra sees major challenges in adapting Unreal Engine 5 for The Witcher 4, and CD Projekt RED itself has acknowledged these difficulties. Speaking on the Fantastický Podcast, he explained:

“If you’re making a game set in deserts and rocky landscapes, this engine works very well, but when it comes to dense forests and vegetation, it struggles.”

The issue, he said, is that Unreal Engine 5 heavily relies on additional software like Nanite, Epic Games’ “game-changer” geometry virtualization system. However, as Vávra pointed out, it “cannot generate complex biomes properly.” Another concern is CD Projekt RED’s decision to ditch its proprietary engine, which has left experienced engineers, animators, and programmers working with an unfamiliar technology.

The Medieval RPG Director Thinks Unreal Engine 5 Isn’t Console-Friendly

Beyond the technical hurdles, Vávra also questioned whether Unreal Engine 5 is viable for mass-market players. While he acknowledges its impressive graphical capabilities, he argues that harnessing its full potential requires a high-end PC costing thousands of dollars.

“Most players don’t have that kind of hardware, making this technology ineffective for the wider gaming audience.”

According to Digital Foundry’s analysis of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, opting for CryEngine was a smart choice to optimize performance for console players. The British hardware and software team reports that the RPG runs remarkably well on Xbox Series X|S and PS5, with the PS5 Pro version pushing the open-world experience even further thanks to its slightly stronger hardware.

Source: 3djuegos