Warhorse Studios, the Prague-based developer behind the Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, has officially confirmed an open-world Middle-earth RPG and a new Kingdom Come adventure. Here is everything we know so far.
Warhorse Studios officially announced on May 20, 2026, that it is developing an open-world RPG set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The Prague-based Czech studio, whose Kingdom Come: Deliverance series has sold over 15 million copies combined, simultaneously confirmed a new Kingdom Come adventure is also in active development. The announcement represents the first-ever single-player open-world action RPG set in Tolkien’s universe, a gap that fans have been waiting decades to see filled.
What Did Warhorse Actually Announce?
The studio’s post on X was characteristically brief: “You might have heard the rumours, it’s time to reveal what we are working on. An open world Middle-earth RPG. A new Kingdom Come adventure. We’re excited to tell you more when the time is right.” On its official website, Warhorse expanded slightly: “We are working on a new RPG set in Middle-earth. We have always been creating worlds full of stories that pull you in, and that’s exactly the kind of Middle-earth we will one day show you.”
No gameplay footage, no platforms, no release windows, and no game title were provided. The announcement landed on the same day that parent company Embracer Group revealed plans to spin off its Fellowship Entertainment division as a standalone public company on Nasdaq Stockholm in 2027, giving Warhorse’s ambitions immediate corporate and financial context.
Who Is Leading the Projects?
Communications director Tobias Stolz-Zwilling clarified the leadership structure during a follow-up community stream. The Middle-earth RPG is being led by Viktor Bocan, who served as design director on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and is considered a founding member of Warhorse Studios. Bocan was responsible for the RPG systems, AI reactivity, and combat design that defined both Kingdom Come titles. The new Kingdom Come adventure is headed by Prokop Jirsa, lead designer on Deliverance 2, who will serve as creative director.
Studio co-founder Daniel Vávra, the creative force behind both Kingdom Come games, stepped away from day-to-day game development in February 2026. He is currently writing the screenplay for a live-action Kingdom Come film adaptation and remains connected to Warhorse in a transmedia capacity. This marks the first time Warhorse will ship major titles without Vávra at the creative helm.
What Do We Know About the Middle-earth RPG?
Concrete details remain scarce, but Stolz-Zwilling offered key descriptors during the community stream. He called the Middle-earth RPG an “absolute passion project” and said the studio has “a completely mind-blowing ready team to delve into what this universe has to offer.” He described the game as “deeply immersive,” promising “a living world” with “interesting characters, memorable places, and of course a strong narrative focus.”
One important distinction: Warhorse deliberately said “Middle-earth RPG,” not “Lord of the Rings game.” Middle-earth encompasses the full breadth of Tolkien’s legendarium, from the First Age through the Númenórean era and the centuries surrounding the War of the Ring. That said, Embracer Group’s rights are understood to cover the Third Age and The Hobbit era, which likely narrows the setting to the time period most audiences know from the films and books.
An unresolved question is camera perspective. Both Kingdom Come games were played entirely in first person, a deliberate choice that deepened physical immersion. Earlier rumours suggested the Middle-earth project could shift to third person, but Warhorse has not confirmed this.
How Does Kingdom Come’s Track Record Apply to Middle-earth?
Warhorse’s credibility for this project rests on a very specific commercial and critical record. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, released in February 2025, sold over five million copies within its first year. The original Kingdom Come: Deliverance, launched in 2018, has surpassed ten million copies. Deliverance 2 won the BAFTA Games Award for Best Narrative in 2026 and took home multiple awards at the Ultra Game Awards 2025, including Game of the Year.
The studio’s design philosophy centres on immersion over spectacle, with demanding systems, historically grounded narratives, and reactive open worlds that refuse to hand-hold the player. Stolz-Zwilling drew a direct line between this approach and Middle-earth: “No matter which world we are working on, you can absolutely trust us and believe that we will build the games in a very specific Warhorse way. We pledged to that, this is our oath.”
He also made a bolder claim: “I said in one interview with someone at Gamescom that we want to become the new kings of RPGs. I still stand by that. I think we have our very own formula you guys love, and that’s one of the reasons why the news yesterday cast these huge waves, because people trust that we know what we’re doing.”
When Is the New Kingdom Come Game Coming?
The new Kingdom Come adventure has a much tighter timeline than the Middle-earth project. Stolz-Zwilling stated during the community stream that “if everything goes right, it comes next fiscal year,” which translates to a window between April 2027 and March 2028. Embracer Group’s Q4 earnings report confirmed that the Kingdom Come project is in full development and could ship by the start of the next fiscal year.
The studio avoided calling the project “Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3.” The phrasing “a new Kingdom Come adventure” has led to speculation that the game may feature new characters or an entirely different storyline within the same historical setting, rather than continuing Henry of Skalitz’s journey. Stolz-Zwilling and community manager Tom Grey confirmed that the new Kingdom Come game will be an open-world RPG, putting to rest early speculation that it might be a smaller expansion or spin-off.
Embracer Group, Fellowship Entertainment, and the Bigger Picture
Warhorse Studios operates under Embracer Group, the Swedish conglomerate that acquired Middle-earth gaming rights from the Saul Zaentz Company in 2022. The dual game announcement arrived alongside Embracer’s plan to spin off Fellowship Entertainment as a standalone publicly listed entity on Nasdaq Stockholm in 2027.
Fellowship Entertainment will house Warhorse Studios alongside Crystal Dynamics, 4A Games, Eidos-Montréal, and others, controlling IPs including The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Tomb Raider, Kingdom Come, Metro, Dead Island, and Darksiders. The new entity targets at least two AAA releases annually beginning in fiscal year 2027/28. Warhorse’s Middle-earth RPG and Kingdom Come entry are among Fellowship’s most visible commercial commitments and will be central to how investors evaluate the new company’s viability.
Middle-earth Gaming’s Rocky Recent History
The stakes are amplified by the IP’s troubled recent track record in gaming. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, released in 2023 by Daedalic Entertainment, became one of the worst-reviewed games of the generation and led the studio to exit game development entirely. Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO, confirmed cancelled on May 15, 2026, was the second major Middle-earth project to collapse before reaching players. Return to Moria, a survival-crafting title from 2023, received mixed-to-positive reviews but never established itself as a landmark Tolkien experience.
Warhorse’s entry represents a meaningful reset. An award-winning studio with a proven track record in open-world RPG design, working with the financial backing of a newly independent entertainment company, is now tasked with delivering what fans have long wanted: a serious, immersive, single-player open-world RPG in Tolkien’s world. Industry comparisons to what Hogwarts Legacy achieved for the Harry Potter franchise are already widespread.
What Else Is Happening in the Tolkien Universe?
The Middle-earth franchise is entering a period of intense multimedia activity. Andy Serkis’s The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, with Serkis directing and reprising his role as Gollum, is set for a December 17, 2027 theatrical release. A separate Lord of the Rings film with a script by Stephen Colbert is also in development. On the gaming side, Crystal Dynamics is reportedly developing a distinct Lord of the Rings title with partial funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. Whether Embracer can manage multiple simultaneous Middle-earth games to completion will depend in part on the Fellowship Entertainment spin-off proceeding as planned.
Questions Players Are Already Asking
When will the Middle-earth RPG release?
No release date or window has been given. Industry observers estimate 2029 at the earliest, given the scale of the project and the fact that Warhorse is simultaneously developing the new Kingdom Come game.
What platforms will it launch on?
Platforms have not been confirmed. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, making a similar lineup the most likely scenario.
Will it be first-person or third-person?
Both Kingdom Come games were first-person only. Pre-announcement rumours pointed to a possible third-person perspective for the Middle-earth RPG, but Warhorse has made no official statement on camera perspective.
What is the reported budget?
Unverified rumours from early 2026 suggested a budget of approximately $100 million, more than double the reported $40 million cost of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. This has not been confirmed by Warhorse or Embracer Group.
Is Daniel Vávra involved?
Vávra stepped away from game development in February 2026 to focus on the Kingdom Come film adaptation. Game development leadership has been handed to Prokop Jirsa and Viktor Bocan. Vávra retains a transmedia connection to the studio.
Is the new Kingdom Come game a sequel to Deliverance 2?
Warhorse specifically avoided calling it “Deliverance 3.” The studio described it as “a new Kingdom Come adventure,” suggesting it may feature new characters or an independent storyline rather than a direct continuation of Henry’s story.
How many games is Warhorse working on at once?
Two. This is a first for the studio. Stolz-Zwilling confirmed during the community stream that Warhorse is now large enough to sustain two separate major projects simultaneously, with distinct creative directors leading each one.
