Warhorse Studios fires Kingdom Come: Deliverance II translator, switches to AI for localization

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II studio axes human translator in favor of AI

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Cutting corners: After its release to generally positive reviews in February 2025, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II sold several million copies worldwide. Czech developer Warhorse Studios is not exactly struggling financially, yet the company is actively pursuing extensive AI adoption, reportedly to "save finances." Kingdom Come: Deliverance II will most likely be Warhorse Studios' last game to receive a human translation. According to a recent post by a Czech translator, the Prague-based studio is switching to LLM-based machine translations for future projects. Fans are far from thrilled as the studio's co-founder seems intent on putting AI everywhere. Max Hejtmánek worked with Warhorse for nearly four years, curating Czech-to-English translations for KCD2, its DLCs, and various marketing materials. "Simply put, if you've ever played KCD2 in English, you've quite likely seen my work," he wrote on the Kingdom Come subreddit. His translations have likely reached players worldwide, too, since the English version serves as the foundation for other localized editions of the game. [OTHER] Fired from Warhorse Studios and replaced with AI by u/ThousandDemons in kingdomcome On March 27, 2026, the translator was unexpectedly called to an unscheduled meeting and fired with no prior warning. According to Hejtmánek, Warhorse managers said they needed to let him go to make the company more efficient and reduce expenses. His role had become obsolete, as AI was now capable of handling all translations for the studio's upcoming projects. "I want you to know that the growing use of AI greatly affects people in the games industry and many others, and I thought you should know how much the company that makes the games you love value the work of their employees, not to mention the environment," said Hejtmánek in his farewell message. The translator said he will not violate the non-disclosure agreement he signed with Warhorse, but he plans to share his unpleasant experience publicly. He has no interest in returning to the company, as his former employer clearly no longer values his skills. Hejtmánek also urged fans not to review-bomb KCD2 or other Warhorse games on Steam - a request that, so far, seems largely moot. Hejtmánek's remarks appear to be a subtle critique of Daniel Vávra, Warhorse co-founder and KCD2 director. Vávra recently described DLSS5 as "just a little uncanny" and called it the beginning of a new revolution in graphics, insisting that "haters" will not stop progress. He argued that the technology is far more than a simple AI slop filter, despite recent confirmation from Nvidia that DLSS5 is indeed hallucinating sloppy graphics that weren't present in the original 3D data. Nvidia's DLSS5 demo has become a major talking point within the gaming industry. Some developers are outright rejecting the technology, while executives like Vávra are eager to apply AI to graphics, translations, and anything else they can automate. Hejtmánek's farewell post serves as a stark reminder of the real impact AI is already having on the industry, and a signal for players about which developers to support.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer claims AI is replacing them

A former Warhorse Studios developer indicated that the Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 studio will be using AI for all localization going forward. This comes as more developers face backlash over the implementation of generative AI in their games. On Saturday, Czech-to-English translator and editor Max Hejtmánek posted on Reddit claiming that he was fired by developer Warhorse Studios and replaced with AI. It came as a shock to the developer, who said he worked on dialogue, quest logs, item names, and marketing material for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and its DLCs. "Yesterday, March 27th 2026, with no forewarning, I was invited to a meeting and promptly told that, in an effort to 'make the company more effective' and 'save finances', as of next month, my position at the company would become 'obsolete' in favour of using AI for all translations going forward," Hejtmánek explained. "This came as a huge shock to me, as though the discussion about using AI for translating had frequently come up in the past, something I was always strongly and vocally against, but never to the extent that it might actually cost me my job in the future." A look at Hejtmánek's LinkedIn shows he worked at Warhorse Studios between July 2022 and March 2026; additionally, the moderators of the Kingdom Come subreddit verified his identity. At this time, Warhorse Studios has not publicly commented on Hejtmánek's claim. We've reached out to a representative of publisher Plaion and Warhorse Studios for comment and will update this article with any response we receive. The use of artificial intelligence by game developers is a controversial topic. While the technology permeates events like GDC, the backlash to its use is usually immense. Just this past weekend, Crimson Desert faced derision over the use of generative AI for in-game art assets. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 released to critical acclaim in February 2025 and was even nominated for Best Narrative, Game of the Year, and Best Role Playing Game at The Game Awards 2025. As such, it's disappointing to hear that AI will be used in any part of the creative writing process, even if it's solely for language translation. The head of Warhorse Studios did recently defend Nvidia's much-hated DLSS5 AI technology, though, so perhaps this pivot shouldn't be too surprising.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 translator says he was 'fired from Warhorse Studios and replaced with AI'

"If you've ever played KCD2 in English, you've quite likely seen my work." Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was a big hit last year and took home PC Gamer's GOTY award, but developer Warhorse has had a strange week when it comes to AI. Game director Daniel Vávra took to X to defend DLSS 5 last Monday, and just yesterday, a thread was posted to the Kingdom Come subreddit with user ThousandDemons claiming to be a translator that worked on KCD2 -- though now they've been fired and "replaced with AI." We have reached out to Warhorse for comment, and will update this story when we hear back. We do not yet have full confirmation of ThousandDemons' identity, but the timeline of his story and self-identification as "Max H" suggest he is Max Hejtmánek, one of two devs credited as "English Editor" on KCD2. Hejtmánek's LinkedIn shows him recently departing Warhorse. We have reached out to Hejtmánek to confirm his identity, but KCD subreddit moderator Tabnam commented on the thread that he's privately received verification proving ThousandDemons' identity as Hejtmánek. "I primarily worked on KCD2 and its DLCs, including dialogues, quest logs, item names, and various other things," ThousandDemons wrote. "Simply put, if you've ever played KCD2 in English, you've quite likely seen my work. "[On March 27], with no forewarning, I was invited to a meeting and promptly told that, in an effort to 'make the company more effective' and 'save finances,' as of next month, my position at the company would become 'obsolete' in favour of using AI for all translations going forward." ThousandDemons wrote that he has been vocally opposed to using AI translation tools at Warhorse, but "never to the extent that it might actually cost me my job in the future. He wrote that he feels "incredibly betrayed by the management" and while he's not asking for his job back, "you can be damn sure I won't keep quiet about my experience." A follow-up edit thanks all the commenters showing support and cautions fans against review-bombing or harassing other Warhorse staff.

Translator On Kingdom Come 2 Claims He Was Replaced With AI

Max Hejtmánek, the English editor and voice-over director behind Warhorse Studios’ 2025 GOTY-nominated hit Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, has claimed that his position at Warhorse Studios was made “obsolete†last night after the Czech developer told him the RPG studio would be “using AI for all translations going forward.†Hejtmánek shared this information in a post on the r/kingdomcome subreddit earlier this morning. The subreddit’s moderators subsequently claimed to have verified Hejtmánek’s identity, and his LinkedIn has since been updated to reveal that, as of March 2026, he no longer works at Warhorse Studios. Kotaku has reached out to Warhorse Studios for comment. Since 2022, Hejtmánek was the “Czech>English translator and editor†for Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and, based on his comment that he “did in fact have work to do†prior to being made redundant, was at least part way through working on additional content or a separate project for Warhorse Studios at the time of his firing. “Yesterday, March 27th 2026, with no forewarning, I was invited to a meeting and promptly told that, in an effort to "make the company more effective" and "save finances", as of next month, my position at the company would become "obsolete" in favour of using AI for all translations going forward,†Hejtmánek stated in the post. “This came as a huge shock to me, as though the discussion about using AI for translating had frequently come up in the past, something I was always strongly and vocally against, but never to the extent that it might actually cost me my job in the future,†Hejtmánek continued. “It had, of course, crossed my mind many times, but I naively thought my work at [Warhorse Studios] was valued enough that I might not be at immediate risk.†“I feel incredibly betrayed by the management of the company I've come to care about greatly these past almost 4 years, and am heartbroken I won't get to see my friends and colleagues at the office every dayâ€|To all management at Warhorse, I won't be breaking my NDA, of course, nor am I looking for my job back or to start legal issues, but you can be damn sure I won't keep quiet about my experience.†Hejtmánek’s reported firing comes after recent comments from the studio's senior leadership in favor of generative AI. Daniel Vávra, Warhorse Studios’ co-founder, appears to be fully on board with the controversial technology and recently took to X to support Nvidia’s DLSS 5 AI-slop filter tech. “This is just a little uncanny beginning,†Vávra stated in his post. “No way haters will stop this.†Hejtmánek said there is one other in-house localizer still at the studio, at least for now. "Warhorse if you're in here you're gonna set your next game up for failure either decisions like this," one fan wrote on the subreddit. "People don't like this kind of crap."

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dev says he was "fired" and replaced with AI: "I feel incredibly betrayed by the management of the company I've come to care about"

"The growing use of AI greatly affects people in the games industry and many others" A Warhorse Studios employee alleges the Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer "fired" him and is replacing his job with AI. Max Hejtmanek took to the game's official subreddit, in a post verified by Reddit moderators, to share that Warhorse Studios is apparently terminating his position. Hejtmanek worked at the developer as a Czech-to-English translator for nearly four years, contributing to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, its various DLCs, and some of its marketing materials. "Yesterday, March 27th 2026, with no forewarning, I was invited to a meeting and promptly told that, in an effort to 'make the company more effective' and 'save finances', as of next month, my position at the company would become 'obsolete' in favour of using AI for all translations going forward," the developer writes. "This came as a huge shock to me, as though the discussion about using AI for translating had frequently come up in the past, something I was always strongly and vocally against, but never to the extent that it might actually cost me my job in the future," he adds. "It had, of course, crossed my mind many times, but I naively thought my work at WHS was valued enough that I might not be at immediate risk." "I feel incredibly betrayed by the management of the company I've come to care about greatly these past almost 4 years, and am heartbroken I won't get to see my friends and colleagues at the office every day." Hejtmanek continues to say that he wants to remind folks "that the growing use of AI greatly affects people in the games industry and many others, and I thought you should know how much the company that makes the games you love value the work of their employees, not to mention the environment." We've reached out to Warhorse Studios for comment on the story.

Kingdom Come Developer Warhorse Studios Allegedly Fired Its Translator, Claiming Their Position Was Made "Obsolete" by AI

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer Warhorse Studios has allegedly fired its in-house voice-over director and Czech to English translator and editor, Max Hejtmánek, suddenly, and without warning, after telling him that his role was made "obsolete in favor of using AI for all translations going forward." Hejtmánek shared his story on the Kingdom Come Reddit page, saying he joined Warhorse Studios back in 2022, and has primarily worked on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and its DLCs. He describes the firing as something that came "with no forewarning" and says he was in the middle of a project when he was let go. "March 27, 2026, with no forewarning, I was invited to a meeting and promptly that, in an effort to 'make the company more effective' and 'save finances,' as of next month, my position at the company would become 'obsolete' in favour of using AI for all translations going forward," Hejtmánek wrote. "This came as a huge shock to me, as though the discussion about using AI for translating had frequently come up in the past, something I was always strongly and vocally against, but never to the extent that it might actually cost me my job in the future. It had, of course, crossed my mind many times, but I naively thought my work at WHS was valued enough that I might not be at immediate risk." Hejtmánek goes on to say that he feels "incredibly betrayed by the mangement" and is "heartbroken" to be leaving a team and colleagues he worked with every day. In response, when asked to comment on the situation, Warhorse Studios told Kotaku in a statement that "Warhorse Studios has always been a talent-driven studio, and we deeply value the people who shape our work. Out of respect for the privacy and dignity of both current and former colleagues, we will not discuss individual situations publicly." Hejtmánek added that his comment was not meant to cause a wave of backlash towards Warhorse Studios by way of review bombing its games or harassment towards the developers, reiterating that all they want "is for people to be more informed about what's going on" within the video game industry "behind closed doors." AI, and more specifically, Generative AI (GenAI) tools, and their place in video games (or lack thereof) has been a hotly contested topic in recent years. It's consistently been a point of controversy when developers are caught having used GenAI without disclosing it to players, including one case that impacted The Alters, which did include developer 11 Bit Studios admitting to using GenAI for translations. Mistakes in the translations was one of the ways players were tipped off that the studio had used GenAI, though 11 Bit maintained that it only used the tech as a placeholder while it sorted getting professional translations done by a human team. It's also worth noting that Warhorse Studios' founder, Daniel Vávra, was someone who stood up in defense of Larian Studios following the wave of backlash it received when it admitted to experimenting with GenAI tools. In the GDC State of the Game Industry Report 2026, a majority of respondents said their studio was using GenAI tools, with more studios using the technology and writing new policies for how it is to be used. That said, a majority of respondents also said they believe GenAI is having a negative impact on the video game industry. As far as we're aware, Warhorse Studios did not use GenAI tools to create Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 or any of its DLCs, though last year, on the topic of GenAI, Vávra did say, "AI is here to stay with us. As frightening as it may be, that's the way it is."