They were criticized for including homosexual romance options in their RPG, but their sales suggest that “online hate doesn’t matter to almost anyone.” Martin Klíma, executive producer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, is clear: criticism hurts, yet it rarely leaves a lasting mark.
In a global industry like gaming, a social media controversy can rattle a release or place an entire studio under pressure overnight. We saw a recent example with Larian Studios, after director Swen Vincke voiced support for generative AI, and Warhorse Studios faced a comparable storm back in 2017. Still, Daniel Vávra – director of both Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and the original game – insists that the series’ controversies have had little real impact on sales or overall public perception.
To understand why, you have to go back to 2017, when the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance was criticized online for not including people of color in its depiction of 15th-century Bohemia. Warhorse responded by pointing to historical accuracy, arguing that ethnic diversity would have been extremely rare in rural regions of that era. Even so, the debate only escalated, academics ended up split on the topic, and gamers became sharply polarized along ideological lines.
The story repeated itself in 2025 with the launch of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, although this time the backlash came from the opposite direction. Some voices that previously defended the studio’s historical approach attacked the inclusion of characters of color and the possibility of same-sex relationships. Warhorse countered that the sequel is set in a large city – a far more plausible setting for cultural diversity – and that this fits the historical framing Vávra’s team has always advocated. It also marks a clear difference from the first game, which was largely centered on central Bohemia.
Warhorse Says Only a Small Group Is Invested in These Culture Fights
Two controversies, two very different angles – and that’s what PC Gamer revisited to ask whether these disputes actually affected sales. Studio co-founder and executive producer Martin Klíma sounded both cautious and decisive on the matter. He acknowledged that any controversy can be uncomfortable, but also admitted it can generate extra visibility for a project; either way, his view is blunt: these discussions only interest “a handful of people” and mean very little to the broader public.
In the end, the data appears to support him. The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance has sold more than 10 million copies since launch, while the sequel reached four million copies sold in just nine months. Klíma’s conclusion is therefore crystal clear: “It doesn’t matter what they say about you, as long as they spell your name right.”
Source: 3djuegos
