A game on Steam proves that the world is relying on the wrong graphics engine, but now the developers seem to be making the same mistake as everyone else

The developers of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 have posted new job openings, but the job description reveals a major change that could significantly alter all new titles.

What is this change? The developers at Warhorse Studios, who published the medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 last year (2025), could soon switch from their current engine.

While the two “Kingdom Come” titles were still developed on the CryEngine, a job posting on tech-artists.org suggests that the developers are looking for new developers with knowledge of the Unreal Engine. According to a report by PCGamesN, tech ops lead Jakub Holik has been searching for a senior technical animator and a dev ops engineer.

Although Warhorse’s publisher Plaion does not want to comment on the rumors, the engine switch could bring significant changes.

Here you can watch the trailer for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 shows Royal Edition with all DLCs for the medieval role-playing game

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The Strength of the CryEngine

What would a switch mean? The game engine is the development environment that composes every game. The Unreal Engine, in comparison, is the most commonly used engine for new titles, and many new developments are created with this engine.

The CryEngine, which is used at Warhorse Studios, has become rarer now, even though many titles, such as Aion, Hunt: Showdown, and Prey, were successful with it.

However, the decreasing prevalence of the engine is a problem, as finding employees with the necessary skills to work with the program is more difficult than with the more well-known Unreal Engine. Many studios work with Unreal Engine, and many developers can handle it.

Yet the CryEngine also has some advantages. It provides particularly good graphics, even with poor hardware. For instance, you can play Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 with the almost 10-year-old GTX 1060.

The Strength of the CryEngine was also explained by the director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: “The Unreal Engine 5 is perfect for dry worlds, rocks, and deserts, but not for trees and dense vegetation.” However, it is these lush forests and fields that characterize the medieval RPG.

A switch to the Unreal Engine would mean that the next title from the studio would look visually different and would particularly make concessions in terms of flora and fauna. However, it could be easier for the developers to recruit new staff.

A Change with Consequences

MeinMMO author Cedric Holmeier says: I love wandering through virtual Bohemia and can hardly get enough of the beautiful landscapes. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has a great strength in its graphics. As a village child, I feel at home in the games, as the forests and fields look much more realistic than in most other titles.

Similarly, like many other MMORPG fans, I can almost tell that games are now using Unreal Engine 5, which, although not negative, has made me personally a bit oversaturated with games that have the same look.

The CryEngine, however, was simply a strength of the studio, delivering a game with good performance and good graphics due to its great capabilities. Now, while many people are searching for jobs due to economic reasons, conducting a potential engine switch just to find it easier to recruit employees does not make sense to me.

A switch to Unreal Engine 5 for a potential Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3 or another RPG sounds harsh, as the developers would give up a clear strength. However, nothing is set in stone yet, and there remains hope for more beautiful landscapes thanks to the CryEngine.