Making a historically accurate videogame: how Warhorse took on the task in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

For the team at Warhorse Studios, bringing players back to the richly detailed landscapes and cities of 15th-century Bohemia meant being confronted by a combination of challenge and opportunity – and a lot of fun.

The game's setting, 1403, is a time of immense political and social upheaval. Joanna Nowak, the in-house historian at Warhorse Studios, explains where we find Henry, the game’s protagonist, as the story begins: "Henry’s journey begins in the year 1403. He is travelling through lands divided between the allies of the Czech King, Wenceslas, and those who support his brother, Sigismund, King of Hungary.”

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With King Wenceslas imprisoned abroad and Sigismund’s army relentlessly plundering Bohemia, fear and uncertainty permeate the air. This background hum reflects a broader societal transformation that forms the backdrop to the game.

“Some members of the nobility are losing their wealth and power,” says Nowak. “The clergy must contend with the schism and the emergence of reformist movements within the Church.

“Meanwhile, various ethnic groups are migrating deeper into Europe, heading toward its heart, Bohemia, bringing about changes in law, language, and trade.”

This is the historical context that provides the framework for the game; an open-world action role-playing game. And for the Warhorse team, grounding this game in accurate history wasn’t just a goal, but a guiding principle.

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Nowak and her colleagues have painstakingly reconstructed medieval Bohemia [on screen?], from the city of Kutná Hora (referred to in-game by its German name, Kuttenberg) to the imposing ruins of Trosky Castle and the rural settlements in between.

"We designed not only the aesthetic elements of the medieval world but also paid close attention to how things were made in the past: what materials were used, and the types of construction methods, techniques, colours, and overall craftsmanship," she explains.

Another crucial aspect of that authenticity was establishing the dual influences of religion and politics. Though not the game’s central focus, as in history these elements shape the atmosphere.

The historical details that make up the world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

One figure featured in the sequel is Jan Huss, a Czech theologian and philosopher who played a key role in the reform of the church. Tobias Stolz-Zwilling, global PR manager at Warhorse Studios, says that in the game’s setting, Huss is “preaching in Prague and becoming popular. We want to try to show real life: how practising Christianity was a daily thing, how the people in villages behaved, how actually they didn’t care so much about the war if it didn’t touch them directly."

But religion – and other, more intangible elements of the past – also present a particular challenge. Ondrej Bittner, Senior Game Designer at Warhorse Studios, points out that some aspects of medieval life are more difficult than others to reconstruct. "The main struggle is with the immaterial world: reconstructing how people talked, their opinions, relationships, and figuring out their daily struggles," he says.

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"And it’s pretty hard to verify that. You have to take an artistic approach and make a decision – even when there’s evidence for both sides of an argument."

However, Bittner also notes that historical research into areas of ambiguity can also present an hidden opportunity. "Sometimes the historical research will unveil interesting stories and topics in itself," he says.

While historical accuracy remains paramount, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is still a videogame, which sometimes means making a trade-off. "Historians have the luxury of being able to say 'I don’t know,' but when you’re creating a world, you can’t say that," Bittner observes. "You have to make a choice."

Countering the “smell of inaccuracy”

While much of the game’s environment is drawn from rigorous research, the player’s experience still needs to be engaging. "People ask, ‘Why do you research the colours of the sheep or the carrots if your consumers don’t know the difference?’ And that’s true –most people don’t know the difference," Bittner admits.

"But the more details you miss, people can begin to smell the inaccuracy. They don’t know what it is exactly, but they begin to get an idea of what looks real and what doesn’t."

Detailed research alone isn’t enough to build a game. The challenge lies in taking that historical knowledge, and shaping it into a playable, immersive world – and that can force a compromise.

Stolz-Zwilling acknowledges that while the game remains as authentic as possible, some aspects must be exaggerated or simplified for the sake of storytelling. “But still, we’re trying our best to show how the world really was," he says.

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And, equally, the team’s aim was to ensure that the game never became too hung up on accuracy at the expense of entertainment.

"If you are not interested in history at all, you don’t have to care about any of the background context, says Stolz-Zwilling. “But if it motivates you to check out actual history, that’s really cool. But it’s a byproduct. This is not a lecture."

Still, for Nowak, the results of this research and quest for accuracy are deeply rewarding. "I’m especially proud of the clothing system, particularly the noble attire," she says. "And in terms of architecture, I spent countless hours researching Trosky Castle and, of course, the city of Kuttenberg.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of how they turned out."