Kingdom Come may be held back on PC for simultaneous console release
Deliverance a bit later than the summer, perhaps.
Czech-made no-fantasy medieval role-playing game Kingdom Come: Deliverance has been turning heads for a couple of years, ever since - and even before - it was successfully funded on Kickstarter. It's powered by CryEngine and it genuinely looks lovely - and you can watch the 40 minutes I saw of it recently in the video embedded below.
We've been primed for a PC summer 2016 release for a while, but, I discovered, there's a chance this may not happen. It's to do with publisher/distributor negotiations - a partner developer Warhorse needs to physically put games in shops.
The snag comes from the pending publisher/distributor (not named) perhaps wanting all three versions of the game - PC, PS4 and Xbox One - to arrive at the same time. Problem is, the console versions aren't as finished as the game on PC, which has been the lead platform since the beginning. In order for a synchronised multi-platform launch, then, the PC version will need to be held back.
"We are still working on the summer release date," PR manager Tobias Stolz-Zwiling told me.
"The idea was to release the game in the summer and then to follow up with the console versions. Right now we are still indie developers but we are in negotiations with publishers to, well, we need someone to bring the games into the shops, so we need a distributor, and he kind of wants us to synch it with the console versions. We are still in negotiations, we will see.
"Best case for you will be summer this year for the PC version and then with the follow-up for consoles; or if the publisher wants us to synch it we will release everything let's say by the end of the year, so we will see about that."
Bear in mind that the PC version may improve if it is held back.
It may be frustrating for some of you to see a game like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which took to Kickstarter because it had problems signing a publisher, now be influenced by one. But KCD always did have aspirations of being a blockbuster game, and being in boxes in shops (as well as on console) is a big part of that. An independent studio can't do everything - even Witcher 3 creator CD Projekt Red needed distribution help.
Also remember that Warhorse has always had a significant other, other than the Kickstarter community, to please, in the shape of a silent Czech investor who's powering the project into "double-digit" millions, Stolz-Zwiling reminded me. Kickstarter was a way of convincing that person to invest.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance enters beta in a couple of days, on 3rd March. This major milestone brings with it some major new features, including more weapon types, shields, bigger battles, bigger areas, story and cut-scenes, crafting and much more. It's looking a lot like a proper game now.
