Deliverance Director Is Leaving Game Development for New Role
Daniel Vavra, the video game director behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel, is stepping away from active game development to take on a new role focused on adapting the franchise for the big screen. In an interview with CzechCruch (via VGC) studio boss Martin Fryvaldsky confirmed that Vavra will shift his creative efforts toward developing a Kingdom Come: Deliverance movie or live-action adaptation rather than continuing as creative director on Warhorse Studios’ next game project.
The longtime co-founder of Warhorse Studios has been instrumental in the development of both Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, taking a lead role in guiding their stories and design. With a working draft of a script already in place and negotiations underway with potential production partners, the studio says his new responsibility will be a major milestone in expanding the franchise beyond its games.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Arrives on PS5 With Huge 1.9.7 Update
The original Kingdom Come: Deliverance finally makes the jump to PlayStation 5 following its huge 1.9.7 update.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s Daniel Vavra Is Leaving Game Development for the Live-Action Film
In his statement to CzechCrunch, Warhorse CEO Martin Fryvaldsky said that Vavra’s decision to leave his directorial role was ultimately driven by his interest in pursuing a greater storytelling challenge rather than any fallout with the studio. “Dan himself wanted to move on,” Fryvaldsky explained. “He made three games that were a global success, and he has been wanting to try something different for a long time.” That challenge is the creation of a Kingdom Come: Deliverance movie, which was first announced in October 2020 when it was reported that former Netflix executive Erik Barmack and Warhorse were developing a live-action film adaptation of the game.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
While Vavra won’t be present in the office every day, Fyvaldsky noted he remains involved with Warhorse in a wider capacity as a creative leader and ambassador for the brand. The studio head suggested Vavra’s new position could be described as a “transmedia director,” which effectively broadens his leadership role over the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise as it continues to expand beyond the gaming industry and into other media like comics and now a cinematic project.
Vavra’s Career Dates Back Decades, Before the Founding of Warhorse Studios
While Vavra has become even more widely known in recent years for his work on the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise, before co-founding Warhorse in 2011, he was known for his work on the Mafia series at Illusion Softworks, where he served as lead writer on Mafia and Mafia 2. Since then, his focus on historical and authentic RPGs helped Kingdom Come: Deliverance become one of the most well-known games in the genre for its realistic medieval setting and immersive storytelling. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, released in early 2025, then continued that legacy under Vavra’s direction, earning strong reviews and substantial sales.
With Vavra now shifting his focus away from active game direction, Warhorse Studios will continue its existing game projects without him at the creative helm. A number of reports confirm he is no longer serving as the creative director on the studio’s next big game, meaning Warhorse’s development team will be carrying that responsibility forward.
Early reaction from the gaming community to Vavra’s departure hasn’t been the best. In one Reddit post by user Hombrenator, for instance, many commenters expressed dislike at the idea of him leaving to focus on a feature film instead of the next game, with others having more general negative opinions about the growing trend of turning video games into live-action movies. Some even conveyed doubt in the next Kingdom Come: Deliverance game’s quality now that Vavra will not be involved.
Nevertheless, this is the path that Vavra has chosen, and the hope is that his talent for writing compelling stories for video games will translate well into the film space. Making movies is an entirely different animal than making video games, but if anyone can do it, perhaps Vavra can. Whether it pays off in the long run remains to be seen, but at least Kingdom Come: Deliverance fans now have something else to look forward to apart from Warhorse’s next game.
- Released
-
February 4, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ / Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
-
Warhorse Studios