Kingmakers is an upcoming strategy shooter on Steam, where you fight knights with assault rifles and sports cars. However, despite the game’s many absurd ideas, there was a limit: a huge mech was too much even for the developers.
Which game is it about? Kingmakers is an upcoming mix of strategy and shooter set to enter early access on Steam in 2025.
The game combines modern weapon technology with medieval battles. Players can compete against huge armies of knights using assault rifles, grenades, and even sports cars, carving their way through historical castles.
Here you can watch the trailer, which does not show a feature that was deemed too far by the developers.
A cyborg (does not) clear the battlefield
Why was the mech too much? Originally, the developers experimented with a huge mech unit, a cybernetic titan that was supposed to march across the battlefield and clear soldiers out of the way. However, as game director Paul Fisch explained in an interview with Edge Magazine, the mech was ultimately removed from the game:
“We actually had a huge cyborg, kind of a titan, marching across the battlefield and pushing soldiers aside,” said Fisch. “But after some experimenting, we found that it was too much. It broke the immersion and ultimately destroyed the fantasy element.”
Instead, Kingmakers now focuses on creating the medieval vs. modern conflict in a believable and strategically challenging way.
What makes the game special? Kingmakers is a blend of shooter gameplay and strategic elements. Players can not only engage in battle themselves and fight against medieval soldiers with modern weapons but also control the action from above, command troops, and build their own army.
An exciting aspect is that the knights learn over time and develop strategies to defend themselves against modern technology.
While Kingmakers receives a lot of positive feedback for its innovative ideas, the release is still awaited. However, there are also titles where the transition from a promising beta or early phase to the final release does not go smoothly: New shooter on Steam was a hit in beta, players complain at release: Your sweet baby has turned into an ugly child.
