A major Czech-to-English translator on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 says he was told without warning that he was no longer needed because his role had become “obsolete” thanks to AI. The controversy goes well beyond one dismissal, because it cuts straight into a sensitive question for the games industry: how far studios are willing to go in replacing skilled creative labor in the name of efficiency.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was one of the standout games of 2025, and there were plenty of reasons for that. The medieval RPG impressed players not only with its 15th-century Bohemian setting, but also with writing and scripting strong enough to meet the weight of expectation placed on it. In that kind of game, translators are not just converting words from one language into another. They are interpreting tone, adapting cultural references, reshaping dialogue, menus, and narrative texture so the experience feels authentic in a completely different language.

One of the people most closely tied to that achievement was Max Hejtmánek, who spent nearly four years translating and editing the original Czech material into believable English while also overseeing voice acting sessions. According to his own account, Warhorse Studios then called him into a meeting without prior warning and informed him that his position would no longer be needed from the following month onward. The explanation he says he was given was blunt: the studio plans to use “AI for all translations from now on.”

He never expected the AI debate to cost him his own job

Hejtmánek described the situation in a Reddit post. He said the official corporate line was the familiar one, that the studio was trying to become more efficient and save money, and that his role had therefore become “obsolete.” He also explained that internal debates about using AI in translation had come up repeatedly, and that he had always opposed the idea. What shocked him was not the debate itself, but the fact that it ultimately appears to have been resolved by removing him. By his own admission, he had naively believed his work was valued enough that he was not in any immediate danger.

[OTHER] Fired from Warhorse Studios and replaced with AI
byu/ThousandDemons inkingdomcome

“I feel incredibly betrayed by the management of the company I’ve grown to love so much over these almost four years, and it breaks my heart not being able to see my friends and colleagues in the office every day,” he wrote. At the same time, he made clear that he is not trying to get his job back, does not intend to pursue legal action, and does not want to violate his confidentiality agreement. What he does want is to make sure the experience is not quietly buried. He also noted that one other localization specialist still remains at the studio, although he did not elaborate further.

The issue has resonated even more strongly because Warhorse Studios appears increasingly comfortable with AI across multiple areas. Daniel Vávra, co-founder of the studio and director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, has repeatedly spoken in favor of generative AI, arguing that it could save large amounts of money and shorten AAA development cycles. He recently defended NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 AI filter as well, saying that the “haters” are not going to stop this shift.

That is why Hejtmánek’s story has spread so widely on social media. For many people, it is not just about one translator being dismissed, but about what it signals for the broader future of game development. The fear is that more and more roles will be labeled replaceable under the banner of economic efficiency, even in areas where consistency, nuance, and human judgment still matter enormously. Hejtmánek himself has asked people not to harass anyone at the studio and not to leave negative Steam reviews, because that is not his goal. What he wants, he says, is for more people to understand what happens behind closed doors in this industry. For now, the game’s Steam rating remains very positive, even if some users have already started trying to turn this decision into a boycott issue.

Source: 3DJuegos