European Historical Game Studies

call for papers – ‘‘Exploring Kingdom Come: Deliverance’’

European Historical Game Studies is an international, non-profit, open-access, peer-reviewed journal of
game studies funded by the Faculty of History at the University of Gdańsk. It publishes empirical and
theoretical research on digital and non-digital games that engage with European histories and heritages.
We invite submissions for the EHGS 2(1)/2027 special issue devoted to Kingdom Come: Deliverance,
a series of role-playing video games developed by Warhorse Studios and set in medieval Bohemia. This
thematic issue seeks to examine Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
(2025) not merely as works of entertainment but also as sites of public history, cultural memory, virtual
heritage, ludic historiography, and more. We look forward to receiving papers from scholars working in
game studies, history, media studies, sociology, heritage studies, and related disciplines.

The KC:D series has become a landmark in historical video games and a major subject of debate in
historical game studies. Its representation of medieval Bohemia has been praised for its commitment to
historical accuracy and realism while also attracting criticism for the limitations and shortcomings of those
qualities. KC:D has generated international debates concerning historical authenticity, nationalism, race,
gender, ideological bias, and the politics of representing the past. This issue welcomes contributions that
critically examine both the achievements and limitations of the series, including its production, reception,
ideological assumptions, commercial context, educational applications, and broader cultural impact.

Submission Deadline

The deadline for submissions is 1 January 2027. Manuscripts should be submitted through the EHGS
online portal and must comply with the journal’s formal and editorial requirements. All submissions will
undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process. Author guidelines and submission details are
available on the journal website: https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/EHGS/about/submissions

Editorial Independence Statement

This issue is an independent publication. It is not commissioned, co-produced, sponsored, or endorsed by
Warhorse Studios. The company exercises no control over its contents, and will not participate in the
peer-review or editorial decision-making process.

Dr. Yaraslau I. Kot
Special Issue Lead Editor

Kingdom Come: Deliverance has already attracted considerable attention within historical game studies.
A central issue in this scholarship is the extent of the game’s historical realism, accuracy, and authenticity
(e.g. Inderst 2020). Numerous scholars rank KC:D among the most successful representations of a
historical setting in video games. Bostal (2019), for example, calls it “the most accurate game based on [the]
medieval period.” Admittedly, even KC:D enthusiasts acknowledge the inevitable selectiveness and
limitations of such accuracy (Neumann 2019) and the need to balance historical representation with the
requirements of playability (Pravdová & Cihlářová 2025). Nevertheless, KC:D has been recognised for its
potential for historical education (McCall 2023) or fostering historical empathy (Houghton 2025).

Historical authenticity in KC:D, however, is not universally acclaimed. A substantial body of scholarship
takes a critical view of KC:D’s depiction of medieval realities. Pfister (2020) argues bluntly “that the
developers claim the game to be more historically accurate than any other RPG when in fact it is not”.
Elsewhere, Pfister (2019) characterises KC:D as “a Bohemian forest simulator”, pointing out its
shortcomings in the portrayal of NPC behaviour. Schwarz & Weber (2023), Heinemann (2021), and others

scrutinise the ideological underpinnings of KC:D worldbuilding. They criticise its reliance on nineteenth-
century conservative nationalist historical imagination, which translates to limited cultural diversity and

insufficient nuance in representations of social groups.
Several in-depth studies have concentrated on single specific aspects of the game or its extensions. Konkol
(2025) and Wessely (2025) focus on in-game depiction of Christian religion. Majewski (2023) studies lore
management strategies. Houghton (2024) explores the brutalism of KC:D medieval combat. Sporka & Valta
(2017) reflect on their involvement in KC:D development as composers, whereas Cook (2024) critiques
the authenticity of historical music. Cihlářová & Pravdová (2025) study KC:D physical collectibles
(artbooks, badges, cards, etc.) as meaningful paratexts that extend the game’s historical world beyond the
digital text itself.

Cultural heritage is yet another productive framework to study KC:D. Pýcha & Váňa (2025) situate the
game within the context of Czech and Slovak cultural video games. Zagalo (2022) interprets its approach
to realism as a case of a wider European tendency toward naturalism. Švelch & Houška (2025) examine
the extensive use of local (Czech) themes and local settings in KC:D’s spatial and visual design. This regional
appeal also extends into video game tourism: players have reportedly been inspired to visit the real-world
locations represented in KC (Nikolić & Leković 2025).
Our special issue on Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II welcomes
contributions engaging with any of these approaches, as well as studies that open new theoretical,
methodological, or comparative perspectives. We particularly encourage submissions that examine the
games as sites of public history, cultural memory, historical education, heritage-making, ideological
negotiation, and ludic historiography.

References

Bostal, Martin. 2019. ‘Medieval Video Games as Reenactment of the Past: A Look at Kingdom Come:
Deliverance and Its Historical Claim’. Actas Del XIV Congreso, 380–94.
Cihlářová, Monika, and Hana Pravdová. 2025. ‘Cultural Realities of Digital Games in the Context of
Historical and Ideological Meanings’. Media & Marketing Identity, December 19, 910.
https://doi.org/10.34135/mmidentity-2025-84.
Cook, James. 2024. ‘Kingdom Come: Deliverance and the Aesthetics of Authenticity’. Journal of Sound and
Music in Games 5 (2): 23–48. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsmg.2024.5.2.23.
Heinemann, Jan. 2021. ‘Kingdom Come: Deliverance and the Problematic Claim of Authenticity in Digital
Games’. Bohemia Band 61: 66–77.
Houghton, Robert. 2024. ‘A Violent Medium for a Violent Era: Brutal Medievalist Combat in Dragon Age:
Origins and Kingdom Come: Deliverance’. In Studies in Medievalism: (En)Gendering Medievalism,
edited by Karl Fugelso. Boydell & Brewer.
Houghton, Robert. 2025. ‘Historical Empathy and Player Agency in Computer Roleplaying Games:
Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Pentiment’. Digital Culture & Society 19 (1): 137–60.
https://doi.org/10.14361/dcs-2025-0108.
Inderst, Rudolf. 2020. ‘Digitale Spiele Im Spannungsfeld Mediävalismus: Die Kontroverse Debatte Rund
Um Das Mittelalter-Rollenspiel Kingdom Come: Deliverance Als Fallbeispiel’. Language at Play.

https://languageatplay.de/2020/08/13/paper-digitale-spiele-im-spannungsf...
die-kontroverse-debatte-rund-um-das-mittelalter-rollenspiel-kingdom-come-deliverance-als-
fallbeispiel/

Konkol, Silvio. 2025. ‘Darstellung und interaktive Einbindung der christlichen Religion in Kingdom
Come: Deliverance’. In Kirchengeschichte und Digitale Spiele: Perspektiven auf ein Phänomen
populärer Kirchengeschichtskulturen, 1. Auflage, edited by Benedict Totsche, Katharina Pultar, Stefan
Michels, and Lukas Boch. Kirchengeschichte und Game Studies? Erkundungen zu Religion und
Geschichte in Digitalen Spielen. Verlag W. Kohlhammer.
Majewski, Jakub. 2023. ‘The Voice of Authority? Lore Management Strategies in Kingdom Come:
Deliverance’. Homo Ludens, no. 1(15) (May): 141–54. https://doi.org/10.14746/HL.2022.15.8.
McCall, Jeremiah B. 2023. Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History. Second
Edition. Routledge.
Neumann, Miroslav. 2019. ‘Representation of Medieval Realia in PC Game: Kingdom Come: Deliverance’.
Czech-Polish Historical and Pedagogical Journal 11 (2). https://doi.org/10.5817/cphpj-2019-020.

Nikolić, Nikola, and Miljan Leković. 2025. ‘Real-World Destinations in Video Games: A Content Analysis
of Reddit Comments’. Ekonomski Izazovi 14 (28): 1–15.
https://doi.org/10.5937/EkoIzazov2528001N.
Pfister, Eugen. 2019. ‘Kingdom Come: Deliverance. A Bohemian Forest Simulator’. Gamevironments 11:
142–48.
Pfister, Eugen. 2020. ‘Why History in Digital Games Matters. Historical Authenticity as a Language for
Ideological Myths’. In History in Games: Contingencies of an Authentic Past, edited by Martin Lorber
and Felix Zimmermann. Transcript.
Pravdová, Hana, and Monika Cihlářová. 2025. ‘From Chronicles to Quests: Integrating Historical Sources
into the Digital Games Kingdom Come: Deliverance’. Acta Ludologica 8 (2): 60.
https://doi.org/10.34135/actaludologica.2025-8-2.60-74.
Pýcha, Čeněk, and Martin Váňa. 2025. ‘Czech and Slovak Cultural Heritage in Video Games’. In Central
and Eastern European Histories and Heritages in Video Games, edited by Michal Mochocki, Paweł
Schreiber, Jakub Majewski, and Yaraslau I. Kot. Routledge.
Schwarz, Angela, and Milan Weber. 2023. ‘New Perspectives on Old Pasts? Diversity in Popular Digital
Games with Historical Settings’. Arts 12 (2): 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12020069.
Sporka, Adam J., and Jan Valta. 2017. ‘Design and Implementation of a Non-Linear Symphonic
Soundtrack of a Video Game’. New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia 23 (4): 229–46.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13614568.2017.1416682.
Švelch, Jaroslav, and Jan Houška. 2026. ‘Czech Appeal: Why and How National Game Productions Use
Local Themes and Settings’. Games and Culture 21 (6): 1423–46.
https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120251322265.
Wessely, Christian. 2025. ‘Game Review - A Bohemian Rhapsody in Red – Kingdom Come: Deliverance
II: Warhorse Studios, 2025’. Journal for Religion, Film and Media 11: 2.
https://doi.org/10.25364/05.11:2025.2.13.
Zagalo, Nelson. 2022. ‘Naturalist Tendency in European Narrative Games’. In Perspectives on the
European Videogame, edited by Víctor Navarro-Remesal and Óliver Pérez-Latorre. Amsterdam
University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv24650dc.