Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – Developer responds to controversy

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In a recent social media thread, Daniel Vávra, co-founder of Warhorse Studios, addressed persistent rumors surrounding Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The rumors suggested that the game had been banned in Saudi Arabia due to an alleged unskippable gay cutscene. Vávra immediately dismissed these claims, emphasizing that the game does not contain any unskippable cutscenes and has not been banned in any country, “at least not as far as we know.”

Vávra’s comments were prompted by a tweet from a Saudi news outlet that was widely shared on social media and gaming forums. He took the opportunity to clarify several aspects of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, including the presence of gay characters, and stated that players are free to engage in same-sex adventures if they so choose. “All affairs are purely optional,” he emphasized, adding that the characters in the game are aware of the social norms of the time, which considered such relationships a forbidden sin.

A more diverse narrative

Warhorse Studios has announced that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will feature a more diverse cast than its predecessor, which was criticized for its lack of representation. The game environment shifts from rural villages to a cosmopolitan city besieged by foreign powers, allowing for a richer diversity of characters. Vávra explained that the character Musa, an educated nobleman from the Kingdom of Mali, comes to Bohemia as part of the royal court and adds unique dynamics to the story.

He noted, “There is a reason for the way he speaks and behaves,” and emphasized that the narrative stays true to the social norms of Bohemia in 1403 rather than catering to a “modern audience”. This sentence, often used in discussions about the perceived “forced diversity” in the media, has become a point of contention in ongoing cultural debates.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 against hateful narratives

In his closing remarks, Vávra expressed concern about the negative behavior of certain groups who claim to be fighting against what they perceive as “woke” narratives. He noted, “The amount of hateful behavior is really sad and will damage any cause associated with it.” Ubisoft has also had to deal with similar comments about the alleged “wokeness.”