Having achieved the highest possible prize in the entire games industry—PC Gamer's 2025 Game of the Year award—I have to assume Warhorse Studios is pretty much done with this whole videogames thing. No worlds left to conquer, and all that.
One Warhorse-r who certainly seems to be taking a step back from games is Daniel Vávra, studio co-founder and creative director on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1 and 2. As reported by Czech Crunch (what a name) and confirmed to PC Gamer by Warhorse itself, Vávra's off to put KCD on the silver screen.
"Warhorse Studios can confirm that Daniel Vávra has moved into a new role within the organisation," the studio said in a statement, "focusing on the development of transmedia opportunities such as the development of the Kingdom Come film".
Vávra has been a controversial figure for a long time. Over a decade ago, he made headlines as a "pro-GamerGate developer," writing tweets and giving interviews railing against "social justice warriors," and mocking criticisms of KCD1 that took issue with its dearth of characters of colour.
Ironically, Vávra and Warhorse would go on to displease the precise opposite end of the political spectrum with the plot of KCD2, which allowed the player to pursue multiple gay romances and prominently featured a black Muslim character. For its part, Warhorse says it is "fed up" of being dragged into culture wars.
Which is not, by the by, the reason Vávra is off to Hollywood. "I'm sure people will wonder if this is some kind of breakup with Warhorse," studio CEO Martin Frývaldský told Czech Crunch (machine-translated). "No, on the contrary, Dan himself wanted to move on. He made three games that were a global success, he has been wanting to try something different for a long time."
But it does mean Vávra won't really be involved with whatever Warhorse's next game is. In his place are two series veterans: "Future game development will be led by seasoned Warhorse duo Prokop Jirsa and Viktor Bocan in their new roles as Creative Directors at Warhorse Studios," the studio tells us. Jirsa was lead designer on KCD2, while Bocan was design director on it.
Whatever Vávra's absence means for Warhorse's next game, I am reassured that it will, at least, almost certainly be weirdly persnickety about the precise order in which I equip my armour. Thank god.
