Warhorse Studios faces AI backlash after translator claims he was replaced to cut costs

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 studio insists AI used in "early stages of production" only, dodges questions about translator allegedly replaced by AI but says "we do not see AI as a substitute for human work"

If you thought a Reddit AMA from Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 developer Warhorse Studios would result in the devs getting buried in smarmy questions about replacing humans with AI, given that a KCD2 translator just said he was fired by the studio and replaced by AI, you'd be correct. The devs also saw this coming, but "decided to go in head first" anyway, says creative director Prokop Jirsa. A now-verified post from translator Max Hejtmanek accused Warhorse of terminating his position to "'save finances'" despite the enormous success of the studio's RPGs. He also said his position had been made "'obsolete'" in favor of using AI for "all translations going forward." Warhorse declines to directly refute these arguments in multiple responses on today's Reddit AMA. It does, however, insist that it values human creativity above all. "It was a really hot topic in our offices whether to do this AMA, but it gives us the opportunity to clear the air. Let's see if we manage that," Jirsa says, starting us off. One user asked the gathering of devs, "Which one of the five of you could most easily be replaced with AI, and when will you be doing so?" "Hopefully none of us, and never. And that applies to the whole team," Jirsa responds. Pressed on Hejtmanek's case, Jirsa adds: "This touches on internal HR matters, so I can't comment on any present or past employee. That would be deeply unprofessional. What I can say is that we plan to have the same amount of human translators as we did on KCD2." One wide-eyed, straight-faced Redditor said, "I always dreamt of working as a translator for Warhorse Studios, do you think I have a chance?" Jirsa fields this one as well, saying, "Definitely. We are currently in the process of hiring new translators. Yes, actual humans. Plural." A comment, not reply, from the official Warhorse Reddit account sums all of this up. "We hear you and your concerns," it begins. "Hopefully this explains the situation a bit. We do not see AI as a substitute for human work, and we are currently looking to expand the company, including our translation team. "Some team members find AI useful during early stages of production. However, we do not use AI-generated content in the final game and we have no plans to change this in the future. Thanks for being with us today," the studio concludes. This does, of course, leave Hejtmanek's situation hanging rather conspicuously in the air. We don't get a crystal-clear response in the entire AMA, though we have gotten slightly more than the studio's previous, cagey statement after this AI mess kicked off. As a refresher, the studio said at the time: "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."

'It Was a Really Hot Topic in Our Offices Whether to Do This AMA' -- Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Devs Answered Fan Questions on Reddit and Inevitably Most Were About AI

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II developer Warhorse Studios came under fire during a reddit AMA in which fans repeatedly questioned the team on its use of generative AI after it allegedly dismissed a translator to cut costs. In March, former Warhorse translator Max Hejtmánek took to reddit to reveal his position had been made "obsolete" as the studio pivoted to AI in a bid to save money and "make the company more efficient." At the time, Hejtmánek said the decision "came as a huge shock," adding: "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 [Warhorse Studios] was valued enough that I might not be at immediate risk." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hejtmánek's firing took center stage during the team's AMA, with most questions about the dismissal -- and there were a lot of them -- answered with an HR-friendly boilerplate statement insisting that as the issue "touche[d] on internal HR matters, I can't comment on any present or past employee. That would be deeply unprofessional." However, creative director Prokop Jirsa did state that the studio was "currently in the process of hiring new English translators. Actual humans," and planned to "have at least the same number of human translators on the next project as we had on KCD2." Some of the questions were brutal, though. The team was asked by one person, "which one of the five of you could most easily be replaced with AI, and when will you be doing so?" and to its credit, they did respond, writing: "Hopefully none of us, and never. And that applies to the whole team." Another said, "I always dreamt of working as a translator for Warhorse Studios, do you think I have a chance?" to which the studio invited the commenter to get in touch. Others asked if it was okay to write their questions with AI, write Kingdom Come: Deliverance II with ChatGPT, and, is "your Gemini Premium subscription gonna translate your next game since you fired the guy that did the English translation?" Another person said that as a translator themselves, they'd been "hurt and saddened by the news" of Hejtmánek's firing. The redditor was directed to a pinned comment in which the generic Warhorse Studios account said: "We hear you and your concerns. Hopefully this explains the situation a bit. "We do not see AI as a substitute for human work, and we are currently looking to expand the company, including our translation team. Some team members find AI useful during early stages of production. However, we do not use AI-generated content in the final game and we have no plans to change this in the future." With Warhorse outlining its alleged commitment to using "actual humans" for translation, some fans were annoyed that the team's responses were being downvoted, while others were unsatisfied with their responses, pointing out that the firing came after fans had called out the allegedly AI-generated art found in-game. It wasn't quite all about the firing, though. One fan asked for more details about the next project, to which designer Ondřej Bittner teased: "I personally cannot wait for the reveal! But the only timeframe I can put on it is: near future. Sorry for the ultimately vague answer, but my hands are tight [sic]." The team was also suitably vague when a commenter asked about the rumors of Warhore making an open-world Lord of the Rings game, saying: "We are hard at work on... something. I cannot disclose details but I can tell it is a huge, immersive RPG." There was also an interesting comment about how difficult the Rabbit UI was to implement. The system -- which indicates whether you're safe, being hunted, or in active combat -- reportedly generated "a lot of internal controversy." "A lot of people thought that it was problematic that it indicated a lot of critical information to the player which Henry had no real way of knowing, e.g. letting the player know that an NPC is starting to recognise them even though the enemy is behind them," the team explained. "We also didn't like how it shifted the player's attention from the actual NPCs in the world to an artificial UI element. In the end, we went ahead with it, because ultimately it did make the stealth gameplay so much readable and playtesters loved it. But I think that every single person in the openworld team still to this day has a different opinion about how we should have done it right." Clearly, the talk about AI dominated the reddit AMA, leading one person to declare it a "train wreck." Creative director Prokop Jirsa responded to this comment to say "it was a really hot topic in our offices whether to do this AMA, but it gives us the opportunity to clear the air. Let's see if we manage that." Then: "Gamers care deeply about our industry and the people creating the things we all love, and sometimes that can create some toxicity. But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way, because it also creates a huge amount of interesting and positive interactions." Last week, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II secured a 2026 BAFTA Games Award for Best Narrative.